


La Vie En Rose

by cerulean_sin (am_bellanoire)



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Complex relationships, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Post-Descendants 3, Roommates, Sexual Content, Social Isolation, mild violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2020-10-11 02:49:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20538914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/am_bellanoire/pseuds/cerulean_sin
Summary: It's bad enough Audrey has to attend the six week Remedial  Goodness seminar with the rest of the newly freed Villain Kids, but sharing a room with Uma? That's too much. Uma who is so unlike anyone she's ever met, So daring and demanding and brave and...pretty?  Uma who starts to wonder when did the pink haired princess stop annoying the hell out of her and  start to look so beautiful.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Blame Tumblr/social media for allowing me to see the cutest pictures of China and Sarah behind the scenes of D3 and creating this story in the first place.
> 
> The story is already half done. Expect an update every day/every other day. It's about eight chapters so far, hopefully it doesn't get much longer than that. But then, we die like men, yeah? Part 8 of Hook Me will be published soon to those wondering, I had to get this out of my system
> 
> Short opening chapter by my standards but more introduction than anything. Following chapters are longer. Happy Reading!

Audrey wanted to be pissed. She wanted to _fume_. She wanted to break something. But that was what had gotten her into this mess, hadn't it? Summer school had blessedly ended and she thought she would have the rest of the the season to enjoy the sun and the parties and and all that came with freedom before the time came for her to collect her diploma and get into princess mode. But alas. Following her not so little stunt – stealing the crown and scepter, sleeping curse, turning the soon to be queen into a hag, the list went on,really – she had been assigned by Fairy Godmother to attend a six week Goodness seminar. 

With the villain kids who had newly been released. 

Life was simply not fair. 

But she had put that behind her. She had to. She was _good_. Anyone could have a little slip. Mal said so herself. Right? Never mind that Ben's new belle had had many of those since her arrival into Auradon. No. It was best not think of such things because that's what had landed her in the predicament she was in. See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil. It was the mantra she had been brought up on. And she would stick to it. Nothing good came out of wicked deeds. She had learned that the hard way. 

Even if it had made her feel _more_ than she had ever felt in her entire life.

Audrey entered her room, bypassing the whole introduction Fairy Godmother was giving in the Entrance Hall. She didn't need it. Auradon Prep had been her home away from home for years. And besides, she wasn't the child of a _villain_. She didn't particularly like the look the Headmistress had leveled each newcomer with. Wasn't this about new beginnings, learning from past mistakes? She hadn't been able to shake the feeling of being scrutinized, being dissected. Being seen as anything but _good_. So, she had excused herself, like the princess she was and let herself into the place that she had always been able to call her own. 

Except now there were two beds. 

There had never been two beds before. She was a _princess_. The daughter of the woman who had survived the most evil curse to be placed on an infant to date. She was royalty. She didn't _share_. And no one, Fairy Godmother, Mal, Ben, his parents be damned, could make her. 

Where would all her stuff even fit with an extra person in the room, Audrey wondered, as she paced the length of the carpeted floor. Her room had always been the biggest dorm Auradon Prep had to offer, practically a parlor suite. Who could afford such dwellings besides her? This wasn't regular school where she had to compete with the likes of the daughters of Snow White and Cinderella and Tiana and Giselle and Elsa. As far as she knew, she was the only Auradon kid attending this _stupid_ seminar. Which meant the extra bed belonged to a villain kid. And the only villain kid who had enough sway to even pull the sort of strings required to sleep in a room like this was... 

The door was thrown open and Audrey gasped sharply, pivoting on the spot to glare at the person who had so thoroughly invaded her personal space, The tongue lashing was quelled before it even sparked however when her eyes landed on the devil may care stance of her new roommate. One hand placed on her hip, the other caressing the hilt of the sword – how had she been allowed to keep it?! – sheathed at her waist. Teal hair tumbling over broad shoulders. Dark eyes that practically _impaled_ her, pinning her in place. 

Audrey wanted to jump out the window. It wasn't that far of a leap. It couldn't possibly hurt that badly. People did that all the time, didn't they? 

“Well hello, princess,” Uma drawled, shutting the door with the heel of her boot and stepping further into the room. 


	2. Chapter 2

Uma sat in the grass of the school grounds, her back against a huge oak tree, her knees drawn up and her arms hugging them. The stuff was so _green_ to the point where it looked fake. But no, it was real. All these plants and flowers and trees. It would take some time to get used to it all, really. None of it grew on the Isle. It had been a week since the seminar had begun. At first she hadn't been for it. School hadn't been what she'd had in mind to be the first thing she did with her new freedom. She didn't need _lessons_ on how to be good. What was goodness, really, but a mask. Same as villainy. Everyone had capabilities of both. Some of the so called _heroes_ of Auradon were more wicked than those who had been locked up on the Isle of the Lost. They just hid it behind bright smiles and pretty words. 

She could never be like _them_. 

“I'm gonna _hook_ him,” Harry growled stalking toward the tree, his expression murderously livid as he threw himself down onto the grass beside his captain, “One more word outta that lump of fish bait and I'll - “

“You're not gonna do nothing,” Uma retorted with a snort, shifting to sit closer to him, “Lesson number one, keep your hands and hooks to yourself.”

“That's easy for ye to say, Uma darling. Yer not sharing space with that little shite,” he wrapped his arm around her, sensing her need for touch in the way she angled her body toward him, “Remind me again when was _he_ a villain? Last time I checked, he was hiding in a closet, shaking like a bag of bones.”

Harry was rooming with Chad Charming and hadn't stopped complaining about his accommodations since the very first day. The prince was another prime example of how the title of 'good' didn't always mean _good_. When the Sleeping Curse debacle had happened, he had jumped straight for the other side without a glance back and became a _toady_. A terrible one, to be sure, but a toady just the same. It had been enough to earn him a seat in the Remedial Goodness seminar with the rest of them and a bed opposite Harry Hook. 

Most days, Uma found her first mate's ire amusing, needling him about the sore topic just to rile him up a bit more. She was from the Isle, she couldn't help it. And that was just the nature of their relationship really. But other days, like this one, when she was in her _feelings_, she did the whole captain thing and reeled him in. Just to make sure he didn't snap and get them all sent back with their parents. No amount of Goodness lessons could make up for the death of a prince after all. 

She lay her head on his shoulder. The physicality of their relationship was complex. It had always been tactile, since they'd been children. Whenever they occupied the same space, he was always within reach, always close enough to touch. It was something they both needed. On her ship, they slept together. When she had been away, looking for a hole in the barrier, she hadn't realized how starved for his touch she had truly been, the pain of missing him and Gil and her crew had been one hell of a distraction, until they'd reunited. He hadn't been able to keep his hands off of her and she hadn't wanted him to. Usually it was more discreet but after nearly a year apart and tasked with helping save Auradon, discretion had gone out of the proverbial window.

Even now, with things settling, the barrier taken down, her promise to get her crew off the Isle fulfilled, Uma found she still needed him near. She still craved his hands on her to keep her grounded, to keep her focused. To _cope_. It helped that he could read her like a book and knew what she required before she even had to request it, too. It was one of the many reasons he was the most important person in her life. 

“And how's me captain faring with her new cabin mate, eh?” 

Uma was yanked out of her thoughts by the poorly concealed laughter in Harry's tone. But only for a moment. They took a turn to the princess she was now sharing a room with and remained there. Audrey. It was hilarious, really. The same girl they had defeated after she'd gone off the deep in and skipped into _their_ world. Uma had to admit, the whole Sleeping Curse thing had been _rich_ by villain's standards. Ironic given who the girl's mother was. And just the thing Auradon needed to shake it out its 'holier than though' mindset. Had Audrey never snapped, hell, Uma and the rest of the kids would still be back on the Isle, wouldn't they?

Hilarious. It was a damn riot. 

She remembered the first night in the dorm. Audrey's look of outrage when she had seen who she'd be bunking with. The perfect picture of petulance, narrowed eyes, flushed cheeks, clenched fists. She had looked as if she would stomp her foot and throw a tantrum any moment and Uma had been tickled by it. 

_”What are you laughing at?” Audrey hissed as Uma just stood there, throaty cackles filling the air. _

_“You, princess. You're looking like you wanna beat me up or something,” the sea witch's amusement died to be replaced with a serious expression, her brow quirking in the form of a challenge, “Great, I've been spoiling for a good spar since I got here.”_

_Audrey didn't even dignify that with an answer. How could she? Yeah, she might have wanted to break something but not if that thing could literally break her first. She was angry. Not _stupid_. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and leveled her fiercest glare at Uma. Strange, she seemed to be immune. She didn't avert her gaze, didn't make a hasty effort to babble an apology. Didn't immediately leave to ask Fairy Godmother for a new room. _

_Uma had to give her some credit though. Even if she didnt want to fight, girly had a spine. An admirable thing to possess. _

_“Which bed's mine?” she asked, letting her gaze rove with concealed appreciation about the huge space. It was all creams and golds and carpet and wallpaper and French windows and warm lighting. It was beautiful. But she'd never admit that aloud. _

_Audrey gestured at the second bed with a dismissive flick of her wrist and perched herself on the edge of her own bed – the bigger one, if only slightly – eyeing Uma as if she could make her disappear with a look alone. _

_“Don't touch my stuff,” she bit out just to get the last word in, adding an insult of her own in retaliation for the injuries she had sustained being forced to share space with someone so infernally frustrating. _

_“Don't you worry, princess,” Uma volleyed back with a sneer, “Stealing's not really my thing. Stabbing people is.”_

_That little gasp of shock and affront was music to her ears and she starting laughing all over again._

“Ye don't _like_ her, do ye?”

Uma almost choked at the question her first mate asked, slapping his chest with the back of her hand at the way he chuckled. He knew her taste in girls just as well as she knew his. How could he even think...? Even if the princess _was_ pretty. 

“Of course not,” she said a bit too vehemently, _defensive_ almost, “She's annoying.”

That was her sentiment and she was sticking to it. Even as both she and Harry's attention was drawn to said princess as she walked across the grounds. Wearing a pale pink dress that showed off quite a bit of leg, her incarnadine hair unbound and flowing in the summer breeze, she pranced about the place as if she owned it, turning heads. 

Uma didn't realize she hadn't taken her eyes off of Audrey until Harry nudged her in the side, nearly falling over himself with raucous guffaws that made her brows furrow and her neck flame. 

“If that's the kinda looks annoying gets, remind me to annoy ye some more,” her first mate snickered, wiping imaginary tears of mirth from his eyes. She popped him in the chest again, glancing up and seeing that Audrey had gone back into the building. 

Good. 

“Shut up, Harry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Uma's relationship in this story is pretty intricate and plays a major role in the overall plot. So if you haven't figured out what exactly they are to each other, that's good, that's intentional. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please stay tuned!! The next will be up tomorrow or the next day. Feedback would be much appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

Audrey was _trying_ to sleep.

The last two weeks had been mentally exhausting, draining. It was bad enough to be forced to attend additional schooling following the completion of summer school, but to do so with the newly freed Villain Kids, to be subjected to their distrustful looks and sneers, sly comments that they didn't even have the couth to make out of earshot was more than she could deal with. And to make matters worse, none of her so-called friends wanted much to do with her either. None of them had come to visit her on the days she had off from lessons, she had received no invitations to the social events of the season when in the past, she'd been one of the first to be invited. Chad didn't even talk to her. The first day of lessons, she had tried to initiate a conversation and he'd turned tail and run the other way. It was pitiful. Her reputation had been reduced to tatters. All she wanted to do now was drift off into a hopefully dreamless oblivion and not dwell on her problems for a few hours. 

That was impossible to do, however, what with her roommate tossing and turning and _talking_ in her sleep the way she was. 

After getting over the initial shock, Audrey had to admit that rooming with Uma wasn't that _bad_. Probably because they rarely saw each other until curfew rolled around. She was up and out of the room before the princess had even started on her makeup. They didn't do their homework together or study for exams. They didn't sit together in class or at meals. No, Uma was almost always in the presence of her pirate crew, a rowdy passel of painted faced hooligans that treated the sea witch like their queen. And that suited Audrey just fine. 

Or at least it would have. If she hadn't been so deprived of human contact. A kind word. A smile. And not the ones laced with pity that Fairy Godmother tended to bestow on her in class either. The ones that made her feel like she was nothing but squandered potential, a failure. She wanted something genuine. And for all her rough edges and hard exterior, Audrey couldn't help but consider Uma to be one of the most genuine people she had ever met. There was nothing fake about her. She didn't hide behind catty remarks and phony smiles. What you saw was what you got. Furthermore, she carried herself in a way that commanded attention, demanded respect. She was a natural leader, truly a captain in more than just title alone, without having to try. She led and you either followed or got out of the way. 

She was still tossing and turning though and her lack of sleep had become a frequent thing. 

Heaving a sigh, Audrey disentangled herself out of her sheets and padded over to the bed on the other side of the room. She clicked on the night light plugged into the outlet, bathing the space in a golden glow. Her gaze landed on Uma, hoping to see that perhaps the slight change might have helped, and her breath caught in her throat.

Apparently that little light wasn't going to do the trick.

Uma was trapped in the throes of a nightmare. She had to be. Nothing else could be responsible for the way her face was drawn into a tight grimace, the way her sheets were bunched around her body, her legs jerking, her spine torqued at a strange angle. A light sheen of sweat had beaded on her forehead despite the dorm's central cooling system. Soft, rapsy sounds bubbled from her parted lips, wrought with distress, and her arms were reaching, hands grasping at empty air as if she was desperately searching for something. Or pleading for help. 

It was like all of the demons of her past had rallied together and were attempting to drag her down into the pits of whatever hellish landscape was filling her mind. 

Audrey wasn't sure whether to wake her up or not. Knowing Uma, she might attack her or something. Stab first and ask questions later, her cutlass was practically in the bed with her after all. But Audrey wasn't _afraid_. The funny thing about your worst fears coming to pass, fear wasn't something that came so easily anymore. She wasn't scared. She felt a very different emotion. There was something about seeing someone so unshakable looking so vulnerable that made Audrey's heart clench in sympathy. Empathy too. Just because someone was a villain, or the child of a villain, had been dealt terrible cards in life, it didn't mean that they weren't still a person. That they didn't _feel_. She had learned that lesson all too well. 

Steeling her resolve, Audrey reached out to brush a damp turquoise lock from Uma's face. The light touch didn't have the desired effect, however. Instead of calming, Uma tensed, her body going rigid. Before Audrey could pull back, a dark hand seized her wrist in an unforgiving grip and in a fluid motion, she was _yanked_ down onto the bed to be suddenly and thoroughly engulfed in strong arms, surrounded by taut muscles and thick, teal hair, and the smell of sea salt. 

Aside from the rather undignified squeak she let out mid tumble, Audrey could not speak, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't _move_. Uma was holding her so tightly, she could barely wriggle around, let alone escape. All she could do was lay there, her heart pounding behind her ribs, and wait to be gutted. Or something. 

But Uma wasn't awake. Her eyes were still closed even though she was so tense and she was murmuring words that Audrey couldn't quite make out. “Ha...ree..'arr...y.” Some kind of pirate jargon? Probably still stuck in her nightmare. The princess didn't know what to do. She wanted to help, but without use of her limbs, how could she really do anything?

She began to sing. 

_”As evening fell, a maiden stood at the edge of a wood. In her hands lay the reins of a stallion. I never seen a girl as fair, heard a gentler voice anywhere whispered, alas, she belonged, belonged to another, another forever. Yes, she belonged to the twilight and mist...._

Audrey continued to hum the melody of the lullaby she had known since she'd been a child. Whenever she had been waken by bad dreams, her mother would sing it to her until she drifted off. And sure enough, such was the same for the pirate captain. She tried to ignore the way goosebumps broke out all over her skin as Uma snuggled deeper against her, her nose buried in the crook of her neck. Audrey kept humming, kept singing softly, even if her voice was a little shaky and hushed. The tension slowly melted from the sea witch's body and her breathing evened out. 

Uma was finally asleep. And she looked so _peaceful_. Audrey couldn't help but feel a surge of pride and another emotion she didn't readily have a name for as she continue to gaze at the girl wrapped in her arms. She really should get back to her own bed. It wasn't proper, was it, to be here like this. But she found she didn't really care. It had been so long, so long since she'd been this close to another person and she could feel her own body relaxing, her eyes growing heavy, her humming getting quieter and quieter. Perhaps she would just rest her eyes a bit. It wouldn't do to accidentally wake Uma up trying to maneuver her around anyway. She'd just lay there for a while longer and then be back in her bed before long.

Audrey's eyes slipped shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wonder what Uma's gonna say when she wakes up lol 
> 
> The song Audrey sings is the lyrics to The Ludlows composed by the late great James Horner, featured in the movie Legends of the Fall. I highly recommend you listen to it, it's beautiful and you'll get the feel for the melody as you read the chapter. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please stay tuned!! Updates will continue to happen quickly, as I said, the story is just about finished. Feedback would be much appreciated, no comment is too long or too short.


	4. Chapter 4

_“What do you think you're doing?” _

_The harsh bark of outrage startled Audrey out of her dreamscape. Blinking, she looked wildly about the room to see that early morning sunlight was filtering in through the sheer pink curtains. She had fallen asleep and now Uma was glaring at her so fiercely it was a wonder the blood didn't freeze in her veins from the force of it. _

_“Y-you...nightmare...I...helped...you -” she stammered out thickly, her brain having a difficult time catching up when the sea witch looked so ready to rip her throat out. It didn't help that beneath the bunched sheets, their legs were still touching and it was hard to focus on much of anything except the warm press of a toned thigh against hers._

_“Get the hell out of my bed!” _

_Uma lunged and Audrey fled, her body kick starting into survival mode at the murderous rage coming off her roommate in waves. She sought refuge in the bathroom, locking the door just in case. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest she felt dizzy, her lungs burning as she sucked in greedy pulls of air. She stayed there, not sure of how much time had passed, not at all caring if it meant she would be late to class. She waited in the bathroom until she heard the door to the dorm room violently slam, signaling Uma's departure._

Uma was avoiding her roommate like the plague following what had been dubbed the 'Bed Incident'. Which was a surprisingly easy thing to do, really. They didn't see much of each other outside of the room anyway. She spent most of her time surrounded by her crew and when the sun set and curfew came and went, exclusively with Harry. Years of running around on the Isle and they didn't worry about getting caught. Besides, what was a detention or two? She'd been punished worse in the past. They both had. 

It had been three days and Uma would go back to the room only after she was sure Audrey would be asleep. It wasn't like her to not face her _problems_ head on. But it didn't sit right with her that she had sought comfort in the arms of the princess. She knew that's what had happened. There was no other reason Audrey could have ended up in her bed. Uma knew how she got when she couldn't sleep, when the ghosts of the past haunted her dreams. She couldn't remember what she had been dreaming about but it must have been terrible. Usually when her thoughts were plagued with violence and venom, Harry was within arms reach. She no longer had that because for some reason it was _frowned_ upon for males and females to share rooms. If two people really wanted to...engage in physical relations, they didn't need a bed or even shared quarters to do it. Most of the kids from the Isle batted for both teams anyway. Poor Fairy Godmother might fret herself into a fever if she knew what was probably going down in some of the dorm rooms at that very moment – the lack of fighting and bloodshed among majority of the older Isle kids spoke for itself, truly – but that was neither here nor there. 

No, it had been a matter of showing weakness, vulnerability in front of someone who was practically a stranger. Back home, a slip up like that could get you hurt or killed. Or worse. She had basically given her roommate ammunition, a weapon she could use against her if ever she wanted to. She was captain of a pirate crew, a top tier VK who was looked at as a leader, a force to be reckoned with, someone to be feared, admired, and respected. What she had done was a rookie move. A mistake. A wolf baring its own throat instead of fighting to the death. 

And that had Uma in a _foul_ mood. 

She knew it was bad because not even Harry had the gall to tease her about it. Her first mate probably feared he'd lose his head in the attempt. He did his job. He provided solace and shelter against the storm that was his captain's raging emotions in the way that only he could, without pressing for the gory details. To his credit, he didn't wince or complain whenever any slight movement irritated the scratches she left on his back. Gil, bless him, tried to cheer him up too. But his ill timed remarks and his inability to detect when he was treading in dangerous waters, more than once had Uma gripping the hilt of her blade with a lethal glint in her eyes. So, he'd taken to saving her his desserts at meals, going so far as to charm the cafeteria workers for extra, and practically fed her from his hand as a form of an apology for his blunders. The resulting sugar rushes _were_ a decent distraction for an hour or two. The rest of her crew remained their own boisterous selves, probably sensing their captain needed that form of normalcy when surrounded by such gilded opulence. They played cards and dominoes, arm wrestled and sparred, and would burst into rousing sea shanties at her request. And it was clear they were trying their hardest to keep up with their school work and maintaining their place in Fairy Godmother's good graces the best they could. They sought Uma out for help when they needed it, knowing she expected nothing less than success. Not one detention or demerit had been earned by a pirate of the Lost Revenge since day one. 

A fortnight, and only four more weeks to go. She had to keep her wits about her. It wouldn't do to lose it now and risk failing the seminar. That wasn't an option. Failing meant a one way ticket back to the Isle. Because that was the purpose for the whole thing, wasn't it? Sure Mal's pretty speech after the barrier was brought down was all well and good, but Uma knew all of Auradon was just waiting for any little misstep, a proverbial toe out of line. They wanted a sure way to weed out the bad seeds to determine who would be allowed to stay. Those who didn't make the cut would most definitely be sent back. And after all the years of waiting for her chance, taking matters into her own hands for the sake of those who couldn't fight for themselves or didn't know how, Uma wasn't about to allow some pretty pink princess to take that from her. She had people who were depending on her. She needed to focus. She needed to get her head in the game and remember that _this_ opportunity mattered more than anything had ever matter before. 

“Leave me alone.”

Uma paused on the staircase, gritting her teeth at the icy sensation that flooded her veins upon hearing that disembodied voice filter around the corner. Speak of the damned devil and _she_ shall appear, she thought bitterly, seriously considering the option of heading in the opposite direction – because there was no way she was going to break her Audrey fast _now_ – when a second voice replied. And she could just hear the sneer around the reedy rasp. 

“You know, you don't seem so evil at all. Maybe you need a bit more wickedness in you. What do you think about that?”

Curiosity was often a dangerous thing, known for killing cats. And cecaelias too, perhaps. But Uma was more than just curious, she realized, as she took the steps two at a time and rounded the corner to come face to face with her roommate and the trio of Isle rats who clearly had a hearing problem. They weren't crew but Uma knew them well enough. There was Spade, son of the Queen of Hearts, Rick Ratcliffe, and playing ringleader, was Clay Clayton. Audrey had her back pressed against the stone wall, her expression and body language screaming discomfort but there was an odd resignation about her that didn't sit well with the sea witch. And Clay was leering at her, standing far too close, his cronies flanking him, allowing no room for the girl to escape. Not that she was even trying to. 

“I think you boys better do what the princess says.”

Four heads snapped up at the sharp command. Audrey looked shocked to see her and strangely _relieved_ for some reason. But Uma ignored it, pinning the other three with a withering glare as she shifted her weight between her planted boots, her right hand coming to rest on the hilt of her cutlass in a subtle warning. 

“Aww c'mon Uma we're _bored_,” Clay crooned around a sickening simper, reaching out to curl his grimy fingers around a lock of Audrey's hair, “and she could _definitely_ entertain us.” He didn't even make an attempt to conceal the lewd connotations of his remark and Spade and Rick snickered as they too eyed the princess as if they were peeling the dress from her skin with their looks alone.

Uma laughed. It was a disarming sound, a throaty giggle that she had perfected, rife with dark mirth and a hint of scorn. The same one she had made during her arm wrestling match with Mal for the rights to Ben back in the Chip Shop over a year ago. 

“Okay how 'bout this,” she unsheathed her sword, deftly twirling it with a turn of her wrist to level it on the boys, “You leave now and never even sneeze in her direction again, _or_ I send you back home in a couple pieces. What's it gonna be.”

Spade and Rick scattered like insects, clearly realizing the danger they were in. Even if she was outnumbered, Uma wasn't to be trifled with. And if something happened to their captain, the crew of the Lost Revenge would most certainly exact retribution, Harry and his infamous hook leading the charge. Clay, though, lingered a moment longer, his beady eyes flickering back and forth between the two females as if he truly was contemplating how far he could go before the first blow was thrown. He grinned, a nasty gnash of crooked teeth, and nodded once at Uma before turning and sauntering away.

It wasn't over between them but Uma wasn't going to think about that now. She let a moment pass before returning her cutlass to its sheath. Her intention had been to scare the jerks off and settle the score. Quid pro quo. She saved the princess and now said princess had nothing to dangle over her head. Tactics, nothing more. But something about the way Audrey had just stood there and let those boys disrespect her like that, let Clay put his hands on her without protest or a well aimed kick to the groin, pissed her off. 

She rounded on her roommate, her dark eyes flashing with ire. 

“Why the hell didn't you defend yourself? I _know_ you're tougher than that.”

Audrey fidgeted under the weight of Uma's glare, the anger and _disappointment_ evident in her tone. It was the first time they had been engaged in any sort of conversation since the whole 'Bed Incident' and much like she had that morning, she struggled to find the words. Finally after a moment of silence, punctuated only by the toe of Uma's boot tapping out a cadence of impatience, Audrey let her hands drop to her sides with a sigh and shrugged. 

“They were just being idiots. It wasn't worth it.”

Uma sucked her teeth. _Idiots_. That was putting it lightly. The boys had been being lecherous leeches. Judging by the defeat in the princess' stance, it was apparent the situation would have gone a whole lot differently had she not intervened. And Uma wasn't going to stand for that. She took a step forward, closing the distance between them, her head tilting so that Audrey had no choice but to meet her unrelenting gaze.

“Well next time those idiots try something, you do what you did to land yourself in this stupid seminar in the first place, all right? You be that mean queen. The whole damsel in distress thing is played out.”

“I might not have to if I've got a swashbuckling pirate swooping in out of nowhere to save me.”

The sea witch blinked in surprise, the tension in her expression evaporating at the demure, almost coquettish lilt to her roommate's words. In that moment she realized just how closely they were standing to each other. So close that she could count each one of Audrey's eyelashes if she wanted to, close enough for her senses to be thrown by the heady floral scent of her perfume. Uma backed off, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it. 

“Yeah, well, don't get used to it.”

She made to walk away, trying to remember what direction she had been going in in the first place before this whole episode had aired, when she was stopped by a soft but firm hand at the crook of her arm. Uma cut her eyes down at that hand, weighing the option of yanking herself away from it, before giving Audrey a sidelong look over her shoulder, arching her brow in silent question. 

'I haven't told anyone, you know, about the other night?” Audrey's tone was low, practically a whisper, but there was something like an apology lacing the words, regret, the desire to be forgiven, sincerity, a whole heap of stuff Uma wasn't used to hearing from another person, “even if people still spoke to me, I wouldn't. I know that's why you've been staying out so late.

“Is that just a cute way of saying you miss me or something?”

Sarcasm was always a good way to diffuse unwanted pressure and Uma clung to it like a lifeline. Audrey, though, wasn't deterred. And she still hadn't taken her hand off of her arm, the pirate captain realized. 

“I thought maybe we could be...friends?” The question was phrased as if the words were desperately wanted to be uttered while simultaneously wanting to be reeled back in because the rejection of the offer would hurt.

“Friends,” Uma chuckled, the breathy noise equal parts amusement and incredulity, “What would we even _do_? Braid each other's hair and talk about boys?” 

“Maybe you could show me how to use a sword. That little thing you did with your wrist was kind of cool.”

That hopeful tone combined with the fleeting return of that coy quirk of lips proved to be the last straw. Uma gently removed Audrey's hand from her arm, trying to ignore the way her skin tingled at the brief contact. She could see her roommate's face fall, but only slightly as if she was trying to pull herself together. So she smirked and let her eyes roll in mock annoyance. 

“Don't pout, princess. I'll see you later.” 

She didn't want to admit it to herself, but later that day, Uma found that her rotten mood had drastically improved and she was quite sure it had nothing to do with the fact that she was finishing off a second bowl of chocolate ice cream and Harry was dragging his hook through her hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh progress, how sweet is it lol but I don't like the cut of that Clay's jib. Hopefully he doesn't do anything stupid...
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, hope you enjoyed this update, please stay tuned!! Feedback would be greatly appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

Being friends with Uma was certainly an _experience_. Audrey didn't know any other way to describe it. By her definition, or the way she had interpreted the term for the past eighteen years, she wasn't even sure they _were_ friends. Uma was so unlike anyone she had ever met. And for some reason, Audrey found that exhilarating, exciting. An unexpected tidal wave shaking up the stagnant waters she had been treading since the seminar started. And for quite some time before then too if she was being completely honest with herself.

Audrey remembered the first time she had tried to initiate small talk, idle chatter really. It was the night following the confrontation in the staircase and true to her word, Uma had returned to their room after dinner. She had been truly shocked to see her. After days of falling asleep to no one else occupying the bed opposite hers, her heart gave a funny little lurch in her chest when the door was unceremoniously flung open, but she smiled a small smile despite herself when Uma strode inside and tossed her bag on the floor. 

_”I didn't think you'd come,” Audrey murmured, using the colored pencil she'd been drawing with as a bookmark in her diary, and shifting on the bed to give her roommate her undivided attention. _

_Uma arched an unimpressed eyebrow, her tone a dry drawl, “Last time I checked, it's my room too.” _

_Audrey bit her lip and twiddled her fingers for a moment. Yes, perhaps that was an idiotic comment. Of course it was Uma's room. Had been for several weeks now. But there was something else. Something that she needed to get off her chest and Uma could see that in the way that the princess seemed pensive but eager to speak and was holding herself back._

__

__

_The sea witch gestured impatiently with her hands, prompting her roommate to speak. _

_“What?”_

_“Thank you for doing what you did,” Audrey said softly, looking down at her hands, at the cream colored walls, the sheer pink drapes, anywhere really but at the girl across from her. _

_“No need to thank me, princess,” Uma scoffed with a dismissive roll of her eyes, the noise finally bringing Audrey's attention to her, thinned brows knitting in confusion, “Anybody with a shred of decency would have done the same thing." It was hard to miss the note of bitterness that coated the words, “Y'know, even if their mother tends to trick kids into striking unfair deals, steals voices for personal gain, and tries to take over an ocean every now and again.”_

_There was nothing Audrey could say to that logic – if it even was logic – though she wasn't sure if she agreed. Thanking people for doing good deeds, for helping quell a crisis was just what was done. Wasn't it? But it was hard to contest to that without feeling horridly hypocritical given what she had done to Auradon out of jealousy, evvy, and selfishness. Traits she had always associated with villainy. Traits she'd always associated with people like Mal...and Uma. _

_She decided to change the subject. _

_But what did two people who had about as much in common as spinning wheels and sea shells talk about? She really wanted this friendship to work. She needed it to work. She tried to think of what she and her old friends – acquaintances even – spoke about and recalled funny little anecdotes from childhood that helped break the ice. Stories that evoked laughter and fondness, innocence and sometimes a little mischief. _

_“When I was six I tried to trick the tooth fairy into giving me extra money by putting a bunch of little white rocks under my pillow,” Audrey confessed with a tinny giggle, suddenly feeling embarrassed by the childish antics in a way she had never felt before. Maybe it was the way Uma quirked an eyebrow and snorted. _

_“When I was six I stepped on a rusty nail and almost died from the infection.”_

_Well, that had gone well, hadn't it? And Audrey couldn't quite mask her horror at the idea of a little child – though it was hard to even imagine Uma as a child, she was so mature for seventeen, eighteen, as if she had already lived a dozen liftimes– nearly dying when they should be running around carefree and happy in the sun. _

_“How...awful. I'm so sorry - “_

_But Uma was unfazed, waving away the words with a dismissive flick of her wrist. _

_“Nah, it taught me to be more careful. You never know whats out to get you, regardless of how harmless it looks.”_

Despite the disaster that had been the first official night of their tentative friendship, Uma continued to return to their room hours before curfew. And Audrey couldn't deny the small surge of excitement she got whenever the key turned in the lock. Uma always made an abrupt and somewhat volatile entrance, there was no ignoring or missing her whenever she entered the room. Not that Audrey wanted to. In the time she spent waiting for her, the princess would try to think of different conversation starters. Though Uma severly lacked in conventional social graces and etiquette, Audrey figured it would do them both well to have the chance to adapt to each other's ways of communication. 

After all, that was what _friends_ did, wasn't it? 

She could recall the first time Uma had left her utterly speechless. 

_It was difficult for her attention not to be completely captured by the sight of Uma taking out her braids and detangling her hair with a wide toothed mother of pearl comb. Audrey was trying her hardest not to stare but it was a lost cause. There was just so much of it, long and thick, and it flowed like water. She could understand why her roommate kept at least half of it braided most of the time, otherwise it might drown her. But it was pretty, quite honestly the prettiest hair she had ever seen because it wasn't just one color. It was dark teal in some places, lighter where the sun had hit it in others, shot through with streaks of turquoise, white, and aquamarine._

_And it made the whole room smell deliciously of salt and coconuts. _

_“You keep that up and your eyes might just fall out your skull,” Uma muttered drily, not even pausing from her task. It was enough to jerk Audrey out of her trance and look away if only for a second._

_“Is that your natural hair color?” She hurriedly blurted out at last. She knew it was rude to gawk as if she was at a sideshow, but she honestly couldn't help it. _

_Uma set down the comb and tossed unbound tresses over her shoulder. Her hands slowly slid to the button of her leathers and the look she leveled Audrey with, all hooded eyelids and pouted lips, could only be described as sultry. _

_“Why, you wanna check?” _

_Audrey let out a rather undignified squeak at the remark, her neck and cheeks feeling as if someone had taken a lit match to them. Eyes now gone as round as saucers, she shook her head vehemently,_

_“N-no I – I,” she babbled like an idiot, “That's not – I mean – I don't -”_

_Uma cackled, the sound loud and ringing, full to bursting with utter amusement. Had Audrey not been trying to relearn how to breathe, she would have realized it was the first time she had heard her roommate truly laugh and not merely out of scorn or derision. _

_“The look on your face,” Uma wheezed in delight, “You wanna get in my pants princess, you gotta do better than that.”_

Audrey still went pink whenever she thought about _that_ particular conversation. And she knew it wasn't simply just a matter of being embarrassed. Uma made her feel things she couldn't recollect feeling before. And it was a terrifying thought given the fact that they hardly knew each other. But emotions tended to run stronger when fueled by stress, when fueled by change. She knew that better than most people considering the things she had done. Audrey didn't know what to make of the new and thrilling feelings she got whenever she so much as thought about her roommate and it wasn't like she had anyone else to confide in about it either. Just her diary. And those pages were filling up rapidly with descriptions of dark skin, brown eyes, turquoise hair, and wicked smirks. 

But things took a turn about a week later when she was presented with her first opportunity to prove herself to the sea witch who had now taken up permanent residency in her mind. 

_By now Audrey was used to the explosive manner in which Uma entered their room, particularly when she was in a bad mood. She didn't even flinch as the door was thrown open and then slammed shut and her roommate threw herself down onto her bed with a growl that could have rivaled Ben's father's. _

_“If I fail that stupid midterm, I'm gonna run somebody through. No way in hell they're gonna send me back over a bad grade.”_

_It took Audrey only a moment to realize that this was first time she had ever heard Uma admit to feeling helpless. Inadvertently and one had to be able to read between the lines, of course, but they had spent enough time together for her to realize that the anger and the threats were a mask to conceal something far more vulnerable. There was fear there. And her heart gave a thud in her chest at the thought that rather than seek refuge with her pirates, Uma had chosen to come here. _

_“I can help you study if you want,” Audrey said firmly, just a touch louder than she had intended if only to be heard over the very detailed account of where Uma planned to stick Fairy Godmother's wand if the Headmistress even dared not pass her. _

_Thankfully it was enough to get the sea witch's attention, who regarded her roommate with a narrow eyed, suspicious glare. _

_“And why would you do that, princess?”_

_Audrey's reply was simple. _

_“Because we're friends.”_

Friends. As more time passed, Audrey began to realize that she had used that word much too liberally in the past. It no longer meant the same thing it did to her once. Being friends was about give and take, about enhancing one another, making each other's existences worthwhile rather than more difficult than they had to be. Being friends with Uma made her bolder, made her fearless. It gave her a rush. And _more_. 

Just like the time she paid Uma back for making her blush with her sinful smiles and scandalous remarks. 

_“You've been sleeping better,” Audrey noted, shutting her diary with a snap as Uma emerged from the shower. While she knew her roommate wouldn't invade her privacy – or at least she hoped she wouldn't – the portrait she had been constructing with teal and mahogany colored pencils would only bring about unwanted questions she was sure. _

_And the tropical scent of Uma's body wash wafting in from the steamy bathroom was far too much of a distraction for her to continue drawing anyway. _

_“Yeah, well, maybe I don't wanna give you any more ideas about feeling me up in my sleep,” Uma volleyed back with a roll of her eyes. It was nice how in the weeks that had passed since the 'bed incident', the awkwardness had faded. _

_To the point where Audrey felt rather mischievous in the next moment, her tone cresting into a teasing lilt as she said, “Shame, it just might do you some good. .”_

_The mischief turned into utter satisfaction when it appeared Uma had no comeback for that. She simply stared at her, her head tilted, her brown eyes alight, dancing with mirth and something Audrey dared hoped looked like approval._

Things only got worse as the days went on. It had been a little over two weeks now since the confrontation in the staircase and while that wasn't nearly enough time for her to even consider that these odd feelings she felt toward Uma were anything but the result of temporary insanity brought on by the trauma of becoming practically persona non grata in Auradon, Audrey couldn't deny that the way Uma seemed to drag these carnal reactions from her with her mere presence alone, without even having to try, was addictive. Frighteningly so. 

_It wasn't entirely fear that made Audrey's heart race in her chest as she found herself on the receiving end of Uma's cutlass. But she wasn't going to think on that now. Not when she blinked up at the pleased look on her roommate's face._

_That smile should be illegal for how pretty it was._

_“I passed the exam. The whole crew did, even my first mate.”_

_The princess found her voice at last, though it was admittedly a little hoarse. _

_“So what are you doing with that, then?”_

_Uma sheathed her sword with a shake of her head. “Someone has a blade on you and you ask questions?” She tutted, “You helped me ace that test and now I'm showing you how to use a sword. I always pay my debts. Get up.” _

_With her other hand that had been concealed behind her back, she bared two wooden swords. She held one out to Audrey who hesitated, still unsure of what was about to happen. _

_“Lesson number one, princess. When someone offers you a weapon, you take it.”_

_“But it's not really a weapon, is it?” Audrey said, finally rising to her feet and accepting the offered item. It wasn't terribly heavy but it didn't feel right in her palm. This wasn't a princess' toy, that was for sure. Even if the edges weren't honed and the point not sharp, the roughness of the hilt spoke of other terrors. Like callouses. And chipped nails. _

_“It's a sparring sword. I borrowed them from the gym. You'll just hurt yourself with a real one.”_

_“You think so?” Audrey couldn't help but ask, bristling at the statement for some reason even if it was true. _

_“Definitely. But who knows, maybe you've got some pirate in you somewhere beneath all the lace and jewels.”_

_Uma was baiting her on purpose, Audrey realized. And perhaps out of curiosity and just a little bit of wanting to prove a point, she swung the wooden sword. The pirate captain, of course, dodged the blow with a snicker. _

_“Okay, first of all, your grip's all wrong. You're not swinging an ax.” Uma sauntered up behind the princess and Audrey, for a split second couldn't breathe. As far as proximity, it was the closest they had been since the morning she had woken up in Uma's bed. She could feel the sea witch's presence. And it was heavier than the sparring sword in her hand. The only thing she could liken it to was being on the beach, right at the shore with your feet in the sand as the waters receded and you could feel the unseen force of the sea attempting to pull you in along with the tide. _

_She tried not to tremble as Uma corrected her hold on the hilt. But it was difficult to do that, made even more so when she felt a knee gently bump the back of her thigh, making her stumble. “Spread your legs.” Oh goodness, that rasp into her ear made all her breath rush out of her lungs and for a moment, everything went gray around the edges of her vision, “It's all about balance, princess.”_

_Balance, what a strange concept because in that moment Audrey had never felt more unbalanced in her entire life._

Now, here it was. With two weeks left in the seminar and Audrey was combating very different emotions than what she had initially felt at the start. It was all Uma's fault. While she knew putting the blame entirely on someone else was wrong, she felt justified in this. She and Uma had made plans to design dresses for the upcoming soiree being hosted by Fairy Godmother, to help better assimilate the villain kids into Auradon society. They were then going to pass the designs along to Evie who truly worked miracles with needle and thread. But Uma had never shown up. It was the weekend, there were no classes and Audrey had been looking forward to spending time with her. She'd waited for sixty minutes before making up her mind to look for her, at first worried that something had happened. A fight, perhaps. Something wth her crew and another gang. An impromptu conference with the Headmistress as a result. 

But when she found her roommate perfectly fine in the courtyard, the relief was short lived as she took in the sight of Uma all but wrapped around a dark haired guy who was running his fingers through her hair and whispering something in her ear that made her laugh out loud. A bulky blond boy sat beside them in the grass, peeling what looked like grapes as if he meant to feed them to his captain by hand. 

Jealousy and _envy_ flooded like poison through Audrey's veins. She hadn't felt this way since the Tourney game when a bewitched Ben had professed his spell induced love for Mal in front of the entire student body. She had run away then, humiliated and in tears. Latching on to Chad like a leech a scant while later, attempting to shove the hastily and halfhearted union in the future king's face to no avail. She experienced the same thing two years later when Ben had proposed to Mal true, except she hadn't fled then. She had done the worst thing she could have possibly done as a result. The venomous emotions going through her now didn't make her want to sneak into a museum after dark and steal dangerous and evil artifacts, or curse all of Auradon to make a statement though.

This was different. And she was going to handle it accordingly.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Audrey strode up to where Uma sat with the two boys, her expression a perfect picture of cold fury that only went down several more degrees when her roommate glanced up at her with a smile. How dare she be smiling when Audrey was so rightfully angry?

“What's up, princess?” 

It didn't make matters any better that Uma didn't even have the decency to disentangle herself from the priate who was probably a split second away from sucking on her neck with as much fervor as he might dig for buried treasure and that did very little to quell Audrey's ire.

“We had plans today, did we not?” 

She could have applauded herself for the frostily regal tone she managed if not for the fact that her hands were clenched into fists at her sides. 

Uma looked puzzled for a moment and then realization dawned. She nodded but didn't look at all apologetic. 

“Oh yeah, my bad, something came up.”

And Audrey could very well see what that something, or two somethings, was painfully clear.

“Friends don't ditch plans without informing each other first,” the princess bit out through her teeth, “It isn't polite.”

That raised Uma's hackles. She rose from her perch in the lap she was sitting in and took a step closer to her roommate. 

“As if I need _you_ teaching me what's polite and what's not?” Her tone was droll but simultaneously mocking, "You and I both know you're not so polite yourself sometimes, right?”

Perhaps it was the chuffs of laughter from the two in the grass, or maybe it was the smug expression on Uma's face, or the way Audrey could feel something bubbling over within her, taking hold of all logic and reason and clutching them in an inescapable vicegrip. Whatever it was, it was enough to make her lash out, swinging her hand back with every intention of smacking that arrogant look off of Uma's face. 

Two things happened at the same time. Both the dark haired and blond boys jumped to their feet, immediately moving to flank their captain. And Uma caught her wrist before her hand could make contact. The sea witch tilted her head as if she meant to pose a question, her lips quirking upward into an incredulously amused smile. But her chocolate eyes were simmering, heated. Audrey swallowed, her heart skipping a beat in her chest as she realized what she had done. 

“We all got our kinks, _Audrey_, but you try that again,” that wicked glare glanced sidelong at the pale wrist she held in her grasp, tightening her grip in clear warning, “And I'll break it.” 

It was strange, truly it was. While she knew and understood that Uma's threat was a valid one and that the sea witch would make good on it if prompted, Audrey was _more_ offended by the fact that she had been addressed by her given name as opposed to the more familiar title of 'princess'. And not just because of the formality – she was royalty after all – but because she had begun to liken it to a personal nickname. Something that brought them _closer_, something that she enjoyed hearing in that husky drawl, in that sarcastic tone. 

She snatched her hand from Uma's grip, stamping down the satisfaction she felt at seeing those dark features contort in shock, hard enough to make her teal haired roommate stumble forward a half step. Hard enough that she knew she might bruise. She could feel the echo of Uma's force on her skin, it scalded and tingled like she had held her hand under the hot tap for too long. It wasn't entirely unpleasant. But that did not matter. Not while all of those crazy emotions were swirling through her like a whirlpool. The pain hardly registered, nor did the flash of pleasure. Not when the hard lump that formed in her throat and the burning sting behind her eyelids had captured her total attention. 

Audrey turned on her heel, tossing her sheaf of pink and blue highlighted hair over her shoulder and stormed back towards the castle. In that moment she didn't care if she had ruined her budding friendship with Uma. Friends didn't get jealous of their friends having boyfriends. Her suspicions were confirmed. Maybe she and Uma weren't friends at all, but then what were they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the wait on this chapter, I was away from my laptop. But I've since returned and as I settle back into things, I can say that over the next few days there will be more updates as well as new content. You see, that time away gave me so much muse and I probably went a little overboard *cough* over 30 new stories planned *cough* 
> 
> But that aside, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It's probably one of my favorites only because of Uma's feisty ass. It literally is like oxygen to me and writing it from Audrey's pov was so much fun, truly. Thank you for reading, I hope you all enjoyed it. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6

_“I knew ye didn't just wanna shag,” Harry rasped on a far too amused chuckle causing Uma to shoot him a withering glare that might have wounded him had he not been so tickled, “ye do like her, don't ye?”_

_The sea witch huffed in exasperation, her nostrils flaring, and placed her hands on her hips. To her utter embarrassment, she realized her voice was a little shaky as she muttered, “And how you figure that?” It had always been difficult to conceal her true emotions when it came to Harry. Gil sometimes too. And she cursed herself for being so transparent. _

_“Darling, if anybody else raised a hand to ye, they'd still be spewing out teeth.”_

_“Or needing stitches,” Gil jovially chimed in around a mouthful of grapes. _

_“Or getting cozy with a shark.”_

_“Or - “_

_Uma had had enough. _

_“Shut up,” she growled and as if sensing she had reached the end of her tether, her boys iced their clams and a spell of silence settled that didn't last long enough for the sea witch's liking. _

_“I think you hurt her feelings,” Gil's voice was softer, pensive, as he rolled a piece of purple fruit between his thick thumb and forefinger, somehow managing not to squeeze the juice out of it in the process. _

_“Not you too,” Uma groaned. Gods she didn't want to think about Audrey right now. Her roommate had already done something to her head, making her thoughts swirl around the way they were. For the life of her she couldn't understand what that little scene had even been about. Sure, they'd made plans but she had wanted – no, she had needed – the company of her boys. With them, things made sense, and she didn't have to be burdened with complicated feelings regarding pink hair, rosy skin, and sweet perfume._

_And an alluring voice that rivaled birdsong. _

_Gil prattled on, obliviously incessant, giving her no respite, “I mean, she was pretty jealous.”_

_Jealous?_

__

__

_Uma laughed, the sound incredulous and maybe a little distressed. Jealous of what? _

_“Okay, did you swallow one of them things whole and cut off the oxygen to your brain or - ?”_

_Because there had to be some reason for him to say something so...so ridiculous. _

_She could feel Harry shift behind her a moment before he draped his arm over her shoulder. And she immediately wanted to pull away because the calming affects of his touch, his nearness, was immediate. She didn't want to be calm right now. Honestly, she wanted to break something. The temptation only grew stronger when her first mate said, “Oh come now, captain, yer not that slow.”_

_“I'll slowly gut the both of you if you don't stop fucking around with me,” she muttered. But the threat was hardly a proper one given the way her voice sounded all mellow and her lashes were a split second from fluttering. _

_Damn it. _

_“Princesses are wee delicate flowers, darling. Ye were too rough with her.”_

_“You didn't have to bait her the way you did, though. And how do you know so much about princesses, anyway?” Uma groused and she could just hear the petulance in her tone, feel the way her lips formed a pout, and that didn't do anything to quell Harry's amusement. _

_“I did have to. I had to be sure me suspicions were right. And I know so much because yer me princess,” he said with a toothy grin that his captain dearly wanted to wipe off his face. _

_ “Uma's about as delicate as poison ivy,” Gil murmured, popping another grape into his waiting mouth. _

_She had to laugh at that. She just had to. And Harry was laughing too, and Gil, and soon the three of them were practically falling over each other laughing until their lungs burned and their stomachs ached. It was exactly what she needed and Uma could feel the stress flowing off of her in waves. Everything that had been the utter tailspin of the past month, worried about keeping her shit together, worried about making one wrong move that would get her sent back to the Isle, worried about her crew keeping their noses clean. Worried about the strange but not unfamiliar feelings she had for her roommate. None of it mattered in that moment with her boys at her back and mirth spilling unrestrained from her lips. _

_When they were reduced to heaving chests and huffy snorts, Harry turned her around to face him. Searching her gaze for a moment, the amusement fading from his kohl lined eyes to be replaced with seriousness, he drew his calloused thumb across her cheek and she immediately leaned into the caress._

_“Go make things right with her, captain.”_

_“I'm not chasing nobody,” Uma said resolutely, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin. _

_“Walk slow,” her first mate countered with a shrug as if that was the end of that and Uma sighed, the sound equal parts irritated and acquiescence. _

_“You get on my nerves, you know that,” but there was a fondness in her words and in the small smile that Harry returned. _

_“Aye and if it all falls apart, yer first mate will be there to put ye back together. Like last time.”_

Last time. Yeah, Uma remembered that time all too well. And she remembered how Harry had been there for her, as he always was. Deep down she knew what he was saying was true. Hell, she'd known for a while now. She'd been here before. A while ago, back on the Isle. Where catching feelings was worse than a death sentence, a weakness to be exploited and make one's life a living hell. From then, she'd vowed she would never fall prey to another situation like that again. And she had diligently kept that promise to herself. Until now. And wasn't that a mind fuck? History repeating itself regardless of the change in scenery. Auradon was supposed to be different. She tried to tell herself that logically when one spent a lot of time with another and said times were rife with stress, it was natural for strange and unwanted _feelings_ to develop. Feelings that ended in either killing or kissing. But the repetition of the mantra was futile. She knew what this was and it was all a matter of nipping it in the bud before it got completely out of hand. 

So why was she hesitating outside the door to her own room? Why was she just standing there, her hand on the smooth wood, trying to regulate her breathing? Trying to compose herself? She felt ridiculous and _that_ would do nothing but make her temper flare and if Audrey was still in a hand happy mood, there was a good chance they'd be kicking each others asses rather than hashing things out verbally. 

And that would be counterproductive, wouldn't it?

With a sigh that sounded more like a growl, Uma let herself into the room, not at all sure of what was about to start, but resolving herself to finishing it. Whatever it was. Her roommate was perched on her bed, scribbling away in that diary of hers and she watched as her head turned, pink, blue, and blonde straked hair concealing half of her face, the colored pencil in her hand stilling.

“What the hell was that, princess?” Uma demanded as a means of greeting, her tone hard, and she internally applauded herself for cleverly concealing the almost _nervous_ way she felt.

“I'm sorry I tried to hit you,” was Audrey's soft reply before she could even get the door closed. And _gods_ there was a hoarse quality in her voice that sounded suspiciously as if she had been crying. 

Great. This was going to be an emotional discussion. And that was not the pirate captain's forte in the slightest. The direct approach was always best, Uma decided. No punches pulled. The bandage ripped off. It was the way she expected people to deal with her when her head was swimming with unwanted feelings. 

“No you're not,” she said, but softened her tone just a bit. It was best to keep your opponent disarmed. Raising hackles would only veer in the direction of a fight. “You wanted to so you did. You're just sorry I caught your hand and your feelings are hurt because I threatened you.”

Audrey's gaze finally met hers and the look in those honeyed eyes could only be described as thunderous. Her brows were furrowed, the book in her lap fell to the floor, and she rose to her feet. Though she was loathe to admit it, the sudden change in demeanor gave Uma pause. 

“My feelings aren't hurt,” was the cold, steely response, “I'm _angry_.”

The sea witch shifted her weight onto her left leg, placing a hand on her cocked hip. “Cool, I can take that. So tell me, princess, what did I do to piss you off?”

“We agreed to do something today and you never showed up.”

“I told you I was busy.”

“Sure looked that way to me,” Audrey's voice dropped to a growl and Uma did not under any circumstances want to think about how that little change in pitch made her heart skip a beat. 

“And that's supposed to mean what?” 

“Is _he_ your boyfriend?”

Uma had always considered herself intelligent. And by Isle standards, she was. There was but so much school could teach you, after all, and she had ended her tutelage at Serpent Prep well over three years ago. Her strengths came to street smarts; knowing how to properly wield a multitude of weapons, keeping her territory safe for her crew and those she took under her protection. Basic first aid, she was good with a bottle of rum, a sharp needle and strong thread. Picking apart Auradon's cast off food to discern what was still edible and what would have someone puking up their guts for a week. 

Somehow what Audrey was asking was harder to figure out an answer to than all of that. She settled onto her own bed with a snort to cover up her unease at the direction of the conversation, “Who? Harry?”

Audrey rolled her eyes mightily, and the expression was filled with so much exasperation, it was _almost_ comical. “Oh, so that's his name. That's the one you were calling out for that night you couldn't - “

“No, he's not my _boyfriend,_” Uma cut her off, her tone sharp, not at all appreciating the little walk down memory lane. The word, 'boyfriend', tasted bitter on her tongue. It was a term, much like it's counterpart, that had no real meaning on the Isle of the Lost. She had never even spoken it aloud before that very moment, so insignificant of a title it was. She could never apply it to Harry. Or anyone.

Audrey, however, seemed to be in a relentless mood, the denial only fueling her annoyance. 

“So you just sit in _random_ people's laps and let them play in your hair and whisper things in your ear?”

Well, that settled that didn't it? Gil had been right. The princess _was_ jealous. There was no mistaking the acerbic edge in her voice, nor the accusation in her question. Uma shifted on her bed, running her fingers through her hair, unsure of how to process this new truth, unsure of why it lit the strangest spark of hope somewhere near her sternum. 

But if her roommate could be honest, however inadvertently, Uma decided she could be as well. Weeks worth of remedial goodness had to count for _something_ didn't it? Even if she found she couldn't look at the princess. The cream colored carpet, her chipped teal nail polish? Far more interesting. 

“There is no word in any language that could define what Harry is to me,” she hardly recognized her own voice for how soft it sounded and she wanted to stab herself in the leg, kick herself in the shin, punch a hole through the wall. Anything that might help fortify her defenses. Because this was getting dangerous now. She didn't like this feeling. Hadn't liked it the first time she experienced it, and now, years later when she knew the pain it would inevitably cause, hated it even more. 

“I don't understand,” the confession had disarmed Audrey, even if Uma wasn't looking at her, she could hear the confusion, the curiosity, the reach for disbelief. And that was enough to prompt her to peek over at her roommate from beneath her long dark lashes. 

“Yeah,” she muttered, heaving a weighty sigh, “I can see that.”

Uma could feel her resolve weakening, while at the same time steeling. The nautilus shell around her neck began to grow warmer and warmer, a golden glow emanating from it as she tapped into her magic. She could hear Audrey's soft gasp from the other side of the room. But it wasn't a sound of fear or outrage. The sea witch took that as a sign to approach. And approach she did. She slowly crossed the room, keeping her movements carefully even. 

“Why is everything in Auradon so black and white?” she asked as she drew nearer, “Either something is or isn't? I'm not used to that. That's not the way I do things, princess.” 

Being half cecaelia, she could feel her senses heighten. Without proximity to the sea, it was only a slight change. But it it was enough. She could feel the vibrations in the room, hear things that she wouldn't normally be able to. The way Audrey's heart rate kicked up several notches for one. The way her breath stuttered in her lungs. She could see the way her pupils dilated in front of her honey brown irises. And it was _intoxicating_ to know she was having this affect on her, wielding this power that came as naturally to her as sucking in air. Close enough to touch they were now and Uma felt she could drown in the heady floral scent of Audrey's perfume. She didn't trust herself to close that last bit of distance. Neptune only knew _what_ might happen then. 

“I – I,” Audrey's voice was softer than a whisper, something vulnerable and lost, and _wanting_, and Uma could hear her just as clearly as if she had shouted, dark eyes training on the pink tongue that darted out to moisten rosy lips, “I don't know what I'm supposed to think, how I'm supposed to feel. Not anymore, not since - “

It took Uma a moment to realize that Audrey was slowly leaning towards her, hesitantly seeking contact, but when she did notice the subtle movement, the pirate captain took a step back. The light from her shell instantly died, the warmth turning cold. She shook her head, her heart pounding so hard, she could hear the rush of her blood in her ears. The walls of the room seemed to be closing in and there suddenly wasn't enough air to breathe. She needed space. A lot of space. This was too much, too much and not enough at the same time and the crestfallen look on the princess' face, well, she was going to ignore that for the time being. 

She turned on her heel, pride and some _serious_ mental restraint alone keeping her stride a brisk walk rather than a sprint towards the the door. But then she paused, her hand on the knob. Inhaling sharply, feeling the burn as her lungs filled, Uma glanced over her shoulder, exhaling through her nose. 

“Go with your gut,” she advised, as sincerely as she knew how, before she let herself out of the room and into the safety of the corridor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh lord, well, lol these two are literally killing me. So much tension, so much emotion, so much unspoken feelings...it's just, I'm going to need for them to get their lives together. For real. Don't get me wrong it's so much fun to write and I know how this is going to end up already but it's such a struggle not to just rush into it, you know? Soon though, soon. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed!! Feedback would be much appreciated.


	7. Chapter 7

To say that things between her and Uma had changed following the confrontation and subsequent conversation in their room was an understatement. Audrey wasn't sure what she could do to fix it, or if it even could be fixed. All she knew was that those tense seconds when Uma had invaded her personal space, the warm glow of her shell necklace, her magic freely flowing, ensnaring them both in a golden net, she had felt something she hadn't felt in a very long time. 

Longing. 

Desire. 

She had feelings for her roommate. She knew that now. And she was almost certain that Uma had feelings for her too. Neither of them knew just what to do about them however.

Unlike last time, Uma didn't stay away from the room and Audrey supposed she should be grateful for that at least. But it was hard because now there was a distance where there hadn't recently been one, a detachment. The pirate captain was no longer as openly teasing or playful. When they did address one another, it was idle chatter, mundane stuff that meant next to nothing. Safe topics that would not accidentally stir up whatever was brewing between them. 

Yet even still, Uma watched her with eyes that lingered and averted whenever Audrey tried to seek out her gaze. It was like a game of cat and mouse and for the life of her Audrey couldn't figure out who was pursuing and fleeing from who. 

She missed their camaraderie, missed their banter, missed the closeness they had achieved in the last month. With less than two weeks left in the seminar and the soiree approaching, finals, and 'graduation' after that, Audrey knew she had limited time to try to piece back together the shattered mess the both of them had made of this _thing_ they had. 

Goodness only knew she wanted to. She just needed a way in. 

_Evie's home was lovely, Audrey had to say. It reminded her of one of the summer estates she remembered staying in when she'd been a child. The grass was emerald, the air smelled of apple blossoms, and Evie herself was all bright eyes and kind smiles as she ushered her inside. _

_“It's so nice to see you, I was so excited when you reached out for a dress for the soiree. I have just the material I think you're going to love.” _

_It took the princess a moment to adjust to Evie's effervescent demeanor. After going so long without anyone even wanting to share space with her or engage in conversation, besides her roommate of course, it was something to get used to. Like sticking a toe in a pool to test how cold the water was before jumping in, she supposed. _

_“You picked the perfect timing too. This will be a slice of apple pie after having to dress Uma and her - “_

_Audrey's whole body tensed at the mention of said roommate and she cut Evie off before she even realized what she was doing, “Uma was here?”_

_“Oh, yeah,” Evie chirped with a smile, unfazed by the abrupt interjection, “She, Harry, and Gil came by about a week ago for their fitting.”_

_Audrey tried not to let what she was feeling show on her face. Thankfully there were many mirrors in the room so she could see she hadn't given herself away. It took some effort though. Uma hadn't even told her she'd already decided on an outfit for the party. _

_“I meant to ask how you two were getting along,” Evie went on, returning to her side, her arms laden with rolls of fabric. _

_Audrey blinked, unsure of how to even respond to that. _

_“How we're getting along?”_

_“Yeah, it was my idea you know. I pitched it to Fairy Godmother for you two to be roommates. I thought it would be best. You two, you have a lot in common, I think. And can learn from each other as well.”_

_“Oh. I didn't know that.” And she hadn't. When the seminar had first started, she had assumed it was some sort of error on the Headmistress' part. An error that inevitably turned out into something...appealing. But still. It was somnewhat jarring to know that the whole thing had been planned by the blue haired fashionista. _

_Evie seemed to take the beat of silence as Audrey taking offense and set down the fabric to make a soothing gesture with her hands. “Well, I've known her for a while. She's loyal and passionate and a leader. And she's amazing, at what she does. She has a good heart. But she can be a little rough around the edges. Takes her a while to warm up to people if she ever does at all. But of course it's not her fault. It isn't any of ours, really. It's just the way of the Isle, you know?”_

_To hear Uma's attributes spoken aloud by someone who had known her back on the Isle, it gave Audrey mixed feelings. On one hand, it was kind of nice to know that Evie thought so highly of the pirate captain, on the other, the princess couldn't help but feel kind of cheated that she was only now just getting to know the _real_ Uma and not the power hungry daughter of a villain most of Auradon had painted her as. It also was odd that Evie seemed to admire and respect the sea witch and yet had spent majority of the time actually knowing her being her enemy._

_Because Uma and Mal had been enemies, not because Uma had done anything personal to Evie to make her an enemy. Isle politics were just weird. _

_“Yes,” Audrey settled on after a moment, “I'm figuring that out. But we've been getting along pretty well, I think.”_

_“Good, that's good. I'm so glad.”_

_The fitting continued and Audrey was pleasantly surprised at how well the dress was coming out. It wouldn't be finished for another few days, but so far she had no complaints. She stood as still as she could on the stool as Evie pinned bits into place, measured this and that. She was used to it, she fondly remembered being fitted for gowns growing up. _

_“How have you been, though?”_

_The question caught Audrey off guard. No one besides her roommate had seemed to care about how she was doing or what she felt. But to her credit, she regained her composure rather quickly. _

_“What do you mean?”_

_“With everything that's happened. With the whole seminar? Have you decided what you're going to do afterward?”_

_That gave her pause. Of course, she knew that after the seminar she would be expected to just...return to her life. But up until a couple months ago, her life had consisted of eventually becoming Queen of Auradon. Now that that was no longer in the cards, Audrey had no idea what she was going to do. There had never been another option. Was she just expected to come up with one out of thin air? When magic didn't even run in her bloodline? _

_“It's been...difficult. But then again, I don't know why I thought it wouldn't be. It was a lot, it still is. But I'm glad it's nearly over. As for what I'm going to do, I'm still navigating that.”_

_“Of course. Well, from what I've heard and seen from your design, you're a wonderful artist. If you'd ever want to try your hand at fashion and designing, you know where to find me.”_

_That was a rather kind offer. Far kinder than anything any Auradonian had said to her in the past few weeks. It gave her something to think about. She had always been good at art but had never imagined it to be something she might do for a living. _

_“Thank you.”_

_And she meant it. _

_Evie moved like a bird. Graceful. Flitting about here and there, making alterations, grabbing materials. There was a focus about her, control, that Audrey couldn't help but admire and envy. She seemed to have it all together, everything figured out. So sure of herself and her abilities. Without arrogance or conceit. Audrey wondered how long it had taken her to get to this point and if maybe one day there was hope for herself. _

_“And now for the finishing touch.”_

_Honeyed eyes widened ever so slightly as she watched Evie place a rose gold tiara on her head. It was the first time she had worn one since she had been under the thrall of Maleficent's scepter. _

_“Oh, oh no I – I shouldn't - “ Audrey murmured as if on autopilot, but made no motion to remove it. She could do nothing but stare at her reflection in the mirror. Even though it wasn't one of her own, the tiara felt like a part of who she was. The fact that she was inwardly torn about it, it physically _hurt_. There had never been a time in her life where she had second guessed herself, her birthright. But now, with things so different, it was as if someone had taken a lance and cleaved her in two from the inside out. _

_“And why not?” Evie volleyed back, her tone soft, but the smile on her face was anything but. There was just a thread of wickedness concealed there that Audrey found complimented her absolutely. What made it even more poignant was the fact that she realized in that moment that the other girl was wearing a tiara too, had been wearing it the whole time, “We're still princesses, aren't we? Despite everything.”_

Despite everything. She could almost laugh if she wasn't afraid the sound would burn a hole in her throat, remembering the day she had met Evie and the rest of them. That fateful day in front of Aurado Prep after the limo from the Isle had departed. Audrey remembered quite well the very first words she had spoken to the blue haired princess about her mother, the Evil Queen, having no royal status in Auradon and by default that meant that Evie didn't either. Goodness. What a terrible thing to say, one princess to another. She hadn't seen it then, but she did now. Those words had cut, whether spoken to intentionally wound or not, and she never should have said them. 

To be reminded of her own royal status, by one of the few people in the world who could understand how she felt, meant far much more than any statement of forgiveness ever could. 

Today was the soiree. In actuality, it wasn't going to be a true 'soiree', or at least not by Audrey's standards. It was more a semi formal day party, the intention behind it being so that the Villain Kids attending the seminar would have the chance to mingle with Auradon society. The Royal Family was going to be in attendance, as well as prominent members of council. Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos – the first Villain Kids allowed into Auradon – the nobles and Auradon Prep alumni. Headmistress Fairy Godmother would be there too of course, more than likely taking notes – both mentally and physically. Audrey believed what Uma had muttered during one of their late night conversations before the whole episode on the grounds. This was part of the final exam. A practical portion in the form of a party. If she wanted to be cynical, which she could be, Audrey thought it rather low to conceal something so important under the guise of revelry and frivolity. But Uma was smart, she knew to stay on her toes. Her pirates too. No one was going to catch her off her guard. 

Audrey wasn't nervous about the test. Even if she failed the entire seminar, she highly doubted her family would sit back and allow the law makers of Auradon to exile her to the Isle. It would be unthinkable. No, what the princess was nervous about was seeing those she had considered friends once upon a time. She was nervous about the stares and the whispers, the looks, and the assumptions. She was nervous about being around her roommate in front of everyone, nervous about what complications her feelings for Uma might cause. 

Speaking of her roommate, she hadn't seen the sea witch at all that day. She was left alone to prepare for the party. And perhaps that was for the best. Evie had done a phenomenal job with her dress. It was exactly how she had envisioned it when she had drawn it. A light and airy garment that was two toned – blush pink and azure blue but colored in a way that upon first glance one was unsure exactly which of the two was the most prominent. She wore her hair in curls that tumbled over her shoulders, and she had decided after much deliberation on the tiara. Evie was right. She was still a princess. Regardless. She kept her makeup intentionally minimal, allowing her own natural glow and beauty to shine through. 

Fashionably late was her rule of thumb and an hour after the party had begun, with butterflies the size of vultures circling about in her stomach, Audrey left the safety of her dorm room and descended into the fray. 

She couldn't help but snort softly taking in the decorations. Floating lanterns and fairy lights despite it being only mid-afternoon. Round tables and chairs set up complete with china plates, gleaming silver flatware, and crystal flutes. The sounds of stringed instruments being bowed wafted through the air. It all seemed so..._pretentious_. A funny thought for the princess to be sure as these were the sort of parties she had been accustomed to attending her entire life. But now, it was just ridiculous. And from what she could see, many of the Villain Kids seemed horrifically out of place. Unsure of what they should be doing or saying, shifting their weight back and forth on the balls of their feet, tugging at their collars. Picking at their food, barely sipping their beverages. She couldn't blame them. She hardly knew what do with her own self. 

The first people to approach her were Heather and Hyacinth of Sherwood, two sisters she used to spend quite a bit of time with during her early years at Auradon Prep. And their smiles were utterly fake. Plastic, toothy things that didn't meet their eyes. She recognized it for what it was immediately, because she used to smile like that. Meaningless pleasantries exchanged that made her want to bite her tongue until it bled. _Goodness_ she couldn't believe this was the type of person she used to be, had wanted to be, had been expected to be. So much had changed in so little time. 

Now that the ice had been broken following the twins' retreat – probably off to giggle at her expense – Audrey knew what to expect, which mask to wear to help her get through the rest of the affair. She almost didn't have to think about it – a flash of teeth, a curtsy, a batting of her eyelashes – slipping back into a role that had once come as naturally to her as breathing. She tried to ignore the way her heart clenched and her lungs burned with each greeting of a familiar face. With each reminder of the past. 

When the time came to greet Ben and members of the council, Audrey knew she was fast approaching the end of her tether. She hadn't seen much of or spoken to the King since the day the barrier came down. It had been best to keep her distance. Even if he had forgiven her for her actions, even though she had apologized to both him and his future queen – and meant it sincerely – it still struck a chord of bitterness to see them together. How could it not? It probably always would. But she smiled, or tried her best to smile, as he extended his hand and signet ring for her to salute. And that _stung_. She wasn't some Auradonian subject and didn't at all like being treated as one. Her family may not rule but she was _royalty_ too. Nor did she miss the way Mal's grip tightened on Ben's arm when she took his hand and kissed the damned ring, either. After all of this, all of this, they were still going to look at her as the girl who had gone off the deep end. The girl who would stop at nothing to be queen. 

She couldn't get away from them and their watchful eyes fast enough. 

Audrey grabbed a glass of sparkling cider from the closest table and clutched it so tightly, her knuckles turned white. She didn't even drink from it, she just allowed her grip to squeeze the crystal, needing something else to focus on, needing something to distract her from doing or saying something she knew she might regret. 

“Whoa, easy now, princess,” a low voice husked near her ear, startling Audrey out her venomous thoughts and making her gasp as the flute was deftly plucked out of her grasp, “You don't wanna spend the next few hours picking shards of glass out your hand. Trust me.” 

She knew who it was without even having to look, could recognize _that_ voice from anywhere. But when she did turn to regard her roommate, she forgot how to breathe. 

“Uma?” 

_Goodness_, apparently frogs weren't the only creatures that could croak. But she honestly couldn't help it. Uma looked stunning. She was swathed in full pirate attire – a white top with billowing sleeves and a low neckline that laced with string, teal leather breeches that hugged her toned legs and calves, a matching fitted waistcoat adorned with ornate gold braiding and buttons, ankle boots with gold buckles that gave her an extra two inches in height. Her cutlass in its sheath, belted at her hip. Her hair was unbound, all of it, and straightened, framing her face, spilling over her shoulders and down to the snall of her back in a waterfall of turquoise. A tricornered pirate's hat with gold trim completed the ensemble. 

Her roommate chuckled and slowly spun, the sunlight catching on the shimmering material of her outfit, casting an affect of iridescence. “Yeah. Clean up nice, don't I?”

Audrey didn't trust herself to speak so she simply nodded. 'Clean up nice' didn't do the captain justice. She looked...indescribably beautiful. And that thought only made her heart beat faster and her cheeks heat. 

Uma seemed to hesitate for a moment, her gaze averting to regard those in attendance, milling about the green of the school grounds, as she chewed on the edge of her lip. But then she squared her shoulders and turned her attention back to Audrey. 

“Let's get out of here.” 

The princess' eyes widened at the suggestion. No. It wasn't a suggestion. Uma never _suggested_ anything, did she? Still, it was a tempting idea. More than just tempting, really.

“But Fairy Godmother, the party. We can't just - “

“My crew's got it covered,” the sea witch countered with a shrug, her head tilting as her lips quirked upward into a smirk, “Unless you really wanna stay?” 

She had wanted to spend one on one time with Uma for days now. And not just because she was still reeling from her run in with Ben and Mal. They needed to talk, no more awkwardness. No more unspoken thoughts. No more beating around the bush. No more skittish stares. She had been wanting a way in ever since the day she had freaked out about her and Harry and this was it. She was tired of this game. _'Go with your gut'_ Uma had told her that night and that's what she was going to do.

She took a deep breath, fortifying her resolve and lifted her chin, meeting Uma's gaze full on. “I don't. Let's go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first time writing Evie, I hope I didn't screw her up too badly lol. I think the moment she and Audrey shared was very important and much needed but of course I'd love to know your thoughts too. Thank you for reading, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Next one probably won't take a whole week to be posted, so definitely look out for it. Feedback would be much appreciated.


	8. Chapter 8

_Uma twitched at the sudden presence of her first mate at her side. It was hard for him to sneak up on her, damn near impossible for anyone who wasn't him to accomplish the feat, so when he managed to catch her slipping, it never failed to amuse the piss out of him. Harry was chuckling heartily to himself as it was, and she would have sent him a glare to shut him up if her attention wasn't so heavily focused elsewhere. _

_Audrey looked like a three course meal – appetizer, entree, and dessert – in that dress and tiara. And then some. She looked every bit like the princess she was, carrying herself with a poise and regal grace that put damn near every one in attendance to utter shame. She had had Uma's undivided attention, from a safe distance away, from the very moment she had arrived on the grounds. A civil war could have broken out right then and there and the sea witch doubted she would have been able to tear her eyes away. _

_And wasn't _that_ a terrifying thought. _

_“When are ye gonna cast yer net, captain?” Harry drawled, reminding her that he hadn't moved from his post. _

_Right. She had meant to approach her, hadn't she? _

_“When I'm good and fucking ready,” Uma snapped, a little meaner than intended, but then again she was still mad about him laughing at her. As it was, neither of them could actually hurt each others feelings, not really, so he remained unfazed by her tone. _

_“Well ye better make it fast before one of these Bore-a-don lads does for ye. Look at the way they're looking at her,” the son of Hook snorted with disgust, “And _we're_ s'posed to be the bad guys? They're ogling her like they wanna eat her.”_

_Uma scowled, the expression equal parts jealousy and chagrin because she had been staring at Audrey the exact same way. But at least she possessed the couth to keep it on the low. She wasn't going to lie, the looks the princess was getting from the guys at the party _were_ getting on her nerves. There was little to no respect in their eyes. It was as if because of what Audrey had done, she had been demoted to just merely being a pretty face, a notch in a belt. And Uma couldn't understand why. She hadn't lost her title and yet who she was seemed to have diminished greatly to those who were supposed to be her allies._

_Auradon apparently didn't know a damned thing about loyalty. _

_“I saw you looking at one of the Sherwood twins the same way though,” the sea witch deadpanned, sending her first mate a sidelong look over her shoulder._

_“Well that's because I'm a pirate,” Harry volleyed back without missing a beat, smirking, “Sparkly things look good to me. And besides, one of them said they liked my hook.”_

_“Be still your heart, right?” Uma scoffed with a roll of her eyes, “So long as they weren't feeling up on it, you and me are good.”_

_“Oh ye know yer the only one with such privilege, darling.”_

_“Better be,” she snorted before turning back to what had been the object of her attention. Her dark eyes followed Audrey's ascent to where the King, his parents, and the rest of the royal court were sitting, watching over the festivities as if they were just _waiting_ for something untoward to jump off._

_Mal was up there along with them, donning a royal purple gown with green trim. Typical. Even though something of a truce existed now between them, Uma was still wary of the future queen. And for good reason. Their relationship was a complicated one. She didn't know how to move around the daughter of Maleficent, not anymore. Thanks to their past. They'd gone from rivals to friends to lovers to enemies to allies. It was enough to make even a genius' head spin. Uma wasn't about to touch that. Not now. When she was still figuring everything out. But she kept her eyes trained on Audrey. She watched her roommate greet the royal couple, watched as Ben extended his hand and ring – the same gesture he'd bestowed on everyone who had walked up to the raised dais – and watched Audrey hesitantly kiss the ring with a little curtsy. _

_What she also saw was the way the princess' face tightened before she could reel the expression in. And then Audrey turned on her heel and descend the stairs far too quickly to be casual. To the untrained eye, she seemed to be the perfect picture of composure. But the pirate captain had shared a room with the girl for over a month, had seen first hand what she looked like when the devil on her left shoulder reared its head and taunted the angel on her right. Uma could sense the tempest even from where she stood. There was thunder brewing in those honey brown eyes._

_This could get ugly. Real fast. _

_“She's losing it,” Uma whispered tensely to Harry, who was following the direction of her gaze, seeing too what she was seeing. They'd always been in sync when it came to locating trouble. _

_“Go on then. Don't ye worry yer pretty head about the good fairy and the royals, we'll take care of it.”_

It was far easier than anticipated to sneak away from the party, Uma found. A diversion, a plot, a plan hadn't even been necessary. Which the pirate found rather disappointing. For as uptight as Auradonians seemed to be about their rules and following them, they sure did seem to have a massive security problem. But she supposed that was where trust and peace of mind got you, didn't it? Stuff like that didn't fly on the Isle. And for very good reason. 

But that was neither here nor there. 

They walked a ways in silence, but it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. Maybe it was the fresh air and afternoon sunlight, maybe it was the fact that they were both so well dressed. It could have been because they were away from a bunch of prying eyes. Uma couldn't be sure. But it was different between them than it had been for the last few days. And she was glad for that. After Audrey had gutted her cod about her relationship with Harry and they both had realized they were attracted to each other – probably more than that – the sea witch was sure that was the end of their tentative friendship right then and there. They had issues that needed to be worked out. _Exploring_ anything more would only complicate things even further. Infatuation brought pain, heartbreak. She had tasted that once before and wasn't keen for a second helping. 

But _gods_ it was hard to ignore the hunger. Especially with her roommate looking good enough to eat. 

“You know typically when someone asks someone else on a date, they do it with a little more fanfare.”

Uma almost choked on air, her eyes bugging out of her head as she rounded on the princess, unable to even stutter out a response to that unexpected statement. What the whole _hell_ did Audrey think she was playing at saying something like that? A date? Was that what this was? But then she recognized the hint of mischief on her roommate's face. That cheeky little smirk and the sheen of golden eyes. She'd missed that in the past few days they had been distanced. 

Once she had taken a moment to gather her composure, Uma decided to play along. 

“Oh, so I'm doing this all wrong, huh?”

Audrey's smile widened a small bit and she tilted her head, letting her gaze drop to Uma's booted toes and back up to her face before responding.

“Pretty much.”

“Well I apologize, your highness,” the sea witch replied in her best display of gallantry, going so far as to remove her pirate's hat to add to the act, “You'll have to excuse my lack of tact. We don't typically date where I'm from and I fear I'm at a loss as how to proceed.”

“Apology accepted.”

Silence descended once again after that, the spell that had come over the two seemingly broken for now. And part of Uma was disappointed, but another part was relieved. Playing these little games with Audrey was what had gotten them in this little predicament in the first place, hadn't it? Sometime between the start of the seminar and now, something had irrevoably shifted in their dynamic. The flirty banter and the coquettish eyes didn't mean the same thing they once had. Now, Uma had to contend with the oddest fluttering sensations in the center of her chest, or the way her stomach swooped without her consent. She had to deal with impulsive behavior, like the kind that had led her to drag the princess away from the party in the first place. The almost kiss they had shared a few days ago didn't even need to be spoken on. 

The pirate was thankfully yanked out of her thoughts when she looked around and realized they had somehow strayed from the clear path they were treading and were now in a heavily wooded area. Trees with leaves so thick they dampened the sunlight. Birds were squawking back and forth to each other on high limbs, other animals joining in the round. The ground was covered over with fallen branches and greenery, mushrooms, and dandelions, wild flowers, and underbrush. 

“Where are we going?” she couldn't help but ask, not at all liking the feeling that came over her whenever she was unsure of her exact location. This wasn't the Isle, she didn't know the nooks and crannies, didn't know the terrain, the area. She couldn't be sure what was safe and what wasn't. Which seemed ironic given that Auradon was supposed to be safe. But anyone with half an anchovy's brain would know that looks could be deceiving. 

“We aren't lost,” Audrey replied softly, her brows furrowing just slightly above her honey eyes, “Don't you trust me?”

Uma could have laughed. In fact, she dearly wanted to. What a weighted question. Trust. Where she came from trust wasn't something anyone offered freely or easily. It was the only thing people on the Isle put value in. More than territory, more than gold, more than food. It was priceless. For a long time, and perhaps longer than that, the only person Uma had put her absolute trust in was Harry. Gil and her crew followed thereafter. While Audrey hadn't tried to murder her in her sleep and the feelings Uma knew she had for the princess made it hard to think clearly sometimes, she felt the need to drive that point home in only the way she could.

“I can trust you because I'm armed,” the sea witch drawled, her hand coming to rest on the hilt of her blade out of habit, “And even if I wasn't, I could knock you out before you even knew what happened to you.”

She didn't expect her roommate to balk, didn't expect her to shy away. Like she told the girl weeks ago after the run in with Clay and his goons, she knew Audrey was tougher than that. But just the same, she hadn't been expecting her to smile. And it wasn't a demure, peachy princess smile either. There was something wicked around the edges, something sinful, something that only someone who had the same thing within themselves to know what it meant could notice. Someone like Uma.

And she would be lying if she didn't find it a turn on. 

“Yes, I'm sure you could,” Audrey replied behind that crooked little smile and Uma realized almost too late that she was staring. Staring and fidgeting a little bit on top of that and if she could have slapped herself, she would have, “Luckily for me, I'm pretty good at knocking people out too. You look so peaceful when you're asleep.”

Oh _gods_. Since when was Audrey able to do that low, sultry thing with her voice? It sent a lick of heat to the pit of Uma's belly. Had she been made of weaker stuff, the pirate captain was sure her knees might have buckled. But it wasn't too hard to fortify her composure and that she did, bracing her weight on her right foot, her hip jutting out as she looked her roommate up and down. 

“You couldn't say something like that to one of your little Auradon friends, you know that right?” Uma said and her own voice was something of growl, due to her rapidly whirling emotions the nautilus shell chained around her neck began to grow warm. It wasn't outright glowing, not yet, but she could feel her magic rising, like an itch she couldn't scratch making her skin prickle. 

“That's true,” the princess said and Uma knew she wasn't seeing things. Somehow Audrey was standing far closer than she had been before. And she was still moving, nearer and nearer, and for the life of her it felt as if the soles of her boots were stuck fast to the grassy ground, “But you're not one of my Auradon friends, are you?”

Uma's shell began to glow. She couldn't hold it back. Not anymore. For the second time in just a few days, her magic was a raging thing, angry about there being no water nearby for it to fully expand. She could feel her limbs twitching, aching to unfurl, the cecaelia half of her longing to be set free. It had been far too long and Audrey's proximity wasn't making it any better due to the emotional ties she had to her magic. While she didn't feel as trapped as she did back on the Isle when her anger, frustration, blood lust, and desperation got out of hand, she still felt helpless in a way. Back there, there was nowhere for it to go even with the barrier blocking magic. It didn't work the same for those who were inherently magical, She couldn't cast spells either, the same way those who had dabbled couldn't, but her brand of magic and her mother's was an internal thing and it didn't take too well at not being unleashed when it wanted to be. 

Like now. 

But in a different way than she was used to. This magic, this part of her wanted to draw Audrey even closer. Wanted to envelope her with phantom limbs, curl her up within them and hold her fast. 

“You're playing a dangerous game, princess,” Uma whispered, her voice barely audible but seeming to echo just the same. 

Audrey tilted her head as if pondering a very difficult question before finally, finally closing that last bit of distance. A gasp caught in the pirate's throat as full pink lips suddenly, unexpectedly, and _blessedly_ descended onto hers. And Uma's vision blacked out. Her chest felt as if might actually cave in. Her arms instantly reached out to encircle an hourglass like lace covered waist. The kiss was dizzying, which was strange given how chaste it was. No tongue. No teeth. But a warmth that the sea witch had never truly known. A sensation that made her head light, her stomach bottomless. And _gods_ the princess smelled so sweet. Like fruit, like a flower garden, and as she breathed into the kiss, her fists clenched around a handful of dress covered skin.

Audrey broke contact first, stepping back half way, honeyed eyes blown with all sorts of sordid things that Uma would have been more than happy to attend to on one part though wary of in another. The princess wasn't being a damsel in distress, no, far from it. She was being that mean queen she had wanted to see. And now that it was in her foresight, in her grasp literally, Uma was going to hold her to it. Especially when her eyelids were hooded the way they were and the right corner of her mouth, plump and flushed with blood, quirked upward in oddly placed amusement. 

“I've never been afraid of danger, even when I was supposed to be.”

_Gods_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I am so so sorry for the delay in this update. It really is no excuse but I've been sick for like two weeks and just couldn't bring myself to write or post honestly. Also it was my birthday on the 30th and though I tried to enjoy it, because I was feeling so poorly it was hard to. But never mind all that! Hopefully this chapter makes up for the wait and to all the new readers, welcome, welcome! Feedback would be much appreciated, silent reading is cool and all but leaving a comment or a kudo is even cooler.
> 
> Next two chapters are just about done and I swear on my life it won't take nearly a month to post them!


	9. Chapter 9

Audrey's head was _spinning_. Verily, she felt as if she were floating. Her feet light, her heart pounding. And she was quite sure it had almost everything to do with the dumbstruck look on her roommate's face. _Almost_ everything, of course, because the unexpected kiss she had planted on those dusky pink lips definitely had priority. It was as if a spell had come over her, except she had been in such a situation and knew this had nothing to do with a sinister or magical thrall. She had kissed Uma because she had _wanted_ to and after eighteen years of doing what was expected of her, of doing what had been ordained by others, what had been spoon fed to her from infancy, crossing that last bit of distance without the lure of the scepter, without the blinding bitterness and vengeance she had felt in that museum all those months ago, it had been _exhilarating_.

“You sure your family don't have no magic in their veins?” Uma murmured, and it was interesting because usually her voice was so sure and solid. 

“No, none,” Audrey replied, stepping back half a step just to put a hairsbreadth of space between them. Else she might kiss her again. As it was, her roommate was looking as if she was having a little trouble relearning how to breathe. She doubted the pirate would ever forgive her if Audrey made her faint or something so girly as that. 

“Oh, okay,” the sea witch said with a decidedly playful roll of her eyes. She tugged at the lapels of her waistcoat and readjusted the tricorn hat atop her head. 

“Shall we?” Audrey extended her hand in invitation and Uma took it, the warmth of that strong grip going straight up her spine. 

The princess continued to lead the way through the woods. She knew them like the back of her own hand. It was the place where she found escape when her thoughts ran too deep, it was where she had drawn inspiration when she was feeling particularly artistic. It was the place she had shared her first kiss with Ben back when they had been twelve years old. It had been decided then that they would eventually be wed. What with his father being king and there being a surplus of princesses, there had been many council meetings to decide whether the daughters of Aurora, Snow White, Giselle, Tiana, or Ariel should be a shoe in for the throne. Who would have imagined – certainly not the prepubescent daughters of the royals or those sitting in the council meetings – that who would eventually be future queen would be the daughter of Maleficent. 

“Why are you making that face?” 

Audrey's train of thought was derailed by the question and she twitched before glancing to her right where Uma was regarding her with intense dark eyes under a slightly furrowed brow. The princess took a deep breath before responding, not at all keen on blemishing the moment they had shared a little while ago. The idea of kissing the pirate again was far more appealing than thinking on things she could never change. 

“No reason,” she settled on with half a shrug, making to continue walking but was held into place when Uma's hand tightened in hers.

“Don't seem like no reason to me.”

Right. It made no sense covering things up or trying to. Uma was far too smart, far too intuitive for that. And besides, she had spent a good deal of her life sweeping things under the rug, feelings and emotions. There was a time when all she had known was expectations and facades, simpering smiles to conceal broken hearts and dissatisfaction. When she was with her roommate, those things ceased to exist. 

“These woods, they just bring back a lot of memories to me.”

“Good ones?”

“Yes, some, but we both know the past isn't always good.” 

Uma nodded and left it at that. It was one of the many things – and there were _many_ things -- that Audrey liked about her. She didn't pry. She wasn't like the folks of Auradon who wanted to know everything, who offered advice and stupid anecdotes about everything. When it was clear Uma had nothing to add, nothing to say, or didn't want to say anything, she didn't. And it was without doubt so refreshing.

The path grew somewhat more natural as they continued to walk; dips and curves, rocky terrain where there had been moss and grass. It became more difficult to keep balance especially with the shoes the princess wore. Eventually they had released each others hands, not for any reason besides the pathway making it too treacherous to continue to walk side by side. Uma walked behind her, still allowing Audrey to lead the way and the princess tried to maneuver around low vines and branches, gnarled and buckling roots. While she knew these woods well, they were still a hassle to traverse. And sure enough, eventually the combined affects of the non-existent path's instability and her choice of footwear, the heel of Audrey's shoe caught beneath a tree root and she stumbled. 

Uma though, despite the fading light, deftly caught her before she could end up in a sprawling heap. For that the princess was truly grateful, she didn't want to ruin her beautiful dress after all. It was funny, she wasn't embarrassed that she'd almost fallen flat on her face in front of her roommate. There was something though that came over her, a wave of something quite close to sadness? Or was it anger? Frustration? It was so hard to put names to feelings she had spent so many years holding back.

“Are you okay?”

What a silly question. It was simple of course and where she came from, Audrey was _used_ to nodding and smiling and saying 'yes, of course, she was okay' because no one in Auradon knew how to effectively _handle_ when someone wasn't okay. She had been not okay for some time and after everything that had happened -- the seminar, the looks she received, the social isolation, these maddening but strong feelings she had somehow developed for the strong and steady pirate captain -- Audrey was terrified that she might never be okay again. 

“No,” she whispered, her tone barely audible, “No I'm not.”

The noise Uma made was a cross between a snort and a hum. But there was nothing derisive about it, nothing mocking. If anything it gave Audrey the feeling that she knew exactly what she meant by that. 

“C'mon now princess,” the pirate murmured, her hands tightening in the hold they had on her, pulling her just a little closer, “You gotta tell me more than that this time.”

It was hard to think, really it was, giving the proximity and location. They were more alone now than they had been even though they shared a room for over a month. Here, in this forest, the both of them dressed in their best, Audrey felt like she was finally being _seen_. And goodness, she could see Uma too. And not just the outside, even though that was lovely to look at. All that teal and turquoise hair framing her face, her eyes like bottomless pools of obsidian but warm, warmer than anyone would have expected. Her mouth, plump and inviting and fixed in that sultry little smirk as if currently turning up the path her thoughts had taken, Audrey wanted to kiss her again. But she restrained herself to say what she had needed to get off her chest for quite some time.

“All my life I've been treated like a porcelain doll,” the princess said and she had no idea why there was a lump forming in her throat making it harder for her to get the words out, but Uma's hold tightened on her, fortifying her and she was able to press on, “like something too sweet and too innocent and too _good_. I was told what to do, how to act, what to feel, how to think. Then I stole that crown and scepter and everyone treated me like an outcast, like I was cracked, damaged,” she was crying now, she realized, tears rolling down her cheeks unbidden, “And then I met you. You make me feel so - “

A calloused though gentle thumb brushed against her face and Audrey's breath caught in her throat. And then in the wake of the digit, the press of warm lips followed and the tears were literally _kissed_ from her skin. It was shocking enough to make her gasp and felt good enough to make her shudder. Uma laughed and Audrey could feel the throaty rumble, the vibrations of the mirthful sound pass through her like a current of electricity. 

“I make you feel so what? Wicked?”

“Alive.”

Audrey couldn't hold back any longer. With that breathily murmured confession, she surged forward and captured Uma's lips with hers for the second time. This time though, it was with less impulse and more intent. And the pirate was expecting it because she responded immediately. It wasn't something chaste either. Mouths parted to swallow gasps and tongues met. Grips tightened and Audrey was sure she might actually swoon like the princesses did in story books. Truth be told, she had never been kissed like this before. Not with such passion and there was something _feral_ in the way Uma had somehow pressed her against the trunk of a tree without parting their lips. She was entirely engulfed and surrounded in a sea of leather and turquoise, the sharp scent of salt, tinged with the sweetness of coconut and the tropics. She could hardly breathe and she wasn't sure she wanted to. What she did know was that she never wanted the kiss to end. 

But eventually, of course, it had to. And it did. Uma pulled back and chuckled, this low and heady thing that made Audrey want to immediately return to what they had been doing. But no, no that wouldn't be right giving that she actually had a destination in mind. What with the way the sun had already sunk below the horizon and darkness was rapidly setting in, it was best to get there now. So she took Uma by the hand – almost more to steady herself because her knees felt more than a bit weak than to lead – and started walking again.

They hadn't far to go, which was good as the time of day was making it harder to see the path. But sure enough, within a few minutes the two of them came upon a clearing and a magically fortified structure, the area lit by spellwork rather than science. 

She could feel Uma hesitate and still and remembered far later than intended that the sea witch had been here before. 

“This is Fairy Cottage.”

Audrey kept walking even as she felt the warm grip slip from her hand. She kept walking until she was face to face with the quaint wooden door of the cottage. She knew it by heart. The picture windows made of glass, the intricate ironwork, the delicate tendrils of ivy that crept and coiled along the facade. 

“It is.”

“Why'd you bring us here?” 

“This place has been a part of me since I was small,” the princess murmured, finally turning and meeting Uma's dark and unrelenting gaze with her honeyed brown. She couldn't allow herself to be reluctant or nervous now, it wouldn't make any sense. She took a deep breath and fought the urge to twirl her hair around her finger, a habit she had picked up as child to diffuse a tense situation. There couldn't be any tension with Uma though, not before she said what needed to be said, “I used to spend every Fairy Godmother's day here with my mother and my godmothers. And then Ben. For a long time it was just me and Ben who would spend time here, just the two of us. And he was always so _good_ to me. I thought I loved him. I'd convinced myself that I did, especially after knowing that it'd been decided I was to be his queen and we'd rule side by side, governing and protecting Auradon. It was what I was brought up to do. The only thing that mattered in the world to me, more than pretty dresses and parties and being popular. And then he and Mal became a _thing_ that I'm still not sure I fully understand. So looking at this place, I have to realize what it meant before isn't what it means now. Now it's somewhere I held someone hostage while laughing as a curse I cast terrorized the people I was supposed to help keep safe from harm. I became the harm.”

For her credit, the pirate captain remained silent but attentive throughout the whole speech. She never interrupted but her expression remained unchanged. Audrey once more steeled her resolve as she took a step forward, closing the distance between them and cupped a mahogany cheek in her hand. She watched with an almost rapt fascination as dark lashes fluttered and her roommate's chest rose and fell beneath the confines of her waistcoat. 

“I don't want that to be the last thing I remember about this place,” Audrey said softly, meaning every word with a conviction she hadn't felt since the night she had walked into the museum, “Make a memory with me Uma." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, giving the way I ended things here, I don't think I have to give a warning about the sort of content the next chapter will contain. Don't worry, it won't be explicit enough to warrant a rating change, but just so that you'll know exactly why this was rated mature. *wink*
> 
> Thank you so so much to everyone who is reading, leaving kudos, commenting, and subscribing. I love you all more than words can say, especially giving how trying the last few weeks have been for me health wise. On the good I've been writing a lot more so you can expect more frequent updates and new material as the weeks go on. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feedback would be greatly appreciated!!


	10. Chapter 10

As soon as Uma shut the heavy wooden door to the cottage with the heel of her boot, Audrey pounced on her like a feral feline. Years of fighting had honed her reflexes to the point where she managed to catch her, bracing herself to absorb the attack so they both wouldn't go tumbling to the floor. A groan got caught in her throat as petal pink lips latched onto hers and she kissed her back with all the fervor she could muster. It was different than what kissing girls had been back on the Isle. Those exchanges had been sloppy and rough; no finesse, a means to an end, pure physicality. It was different than kissing Harry. While their kisses were affectionate, they lacked romance. That wasn't their _thing_. This though, this was something out of a fairy tale. Literally. And passionate as all hell. Something that made her head spin and her face burn, something that made her heart beat in triple time and the blood rush so quickly through her veins, she thought she might pull a damn distressed damsel and pass out. 

She could almost find it comical, seeing this side of Audrey. If she had the breath to laugh and if she wasn't so exhilarated, wasn't so turned on. She was not stupid. She knew very well what the princess had been alluding to outside with her sweet talk of making new memories. But that had come from a place of emotions. Emotions that Uma wasn't entirely sure either one of them were willing to contend with. Doing _that_ would definitely pitch them ass over elbows past the point of no return. If they went _there_, there was no going back from it. Weeks of this steady build up, weeks of fussing, flirting, and sharing stories, spending time together, not so subtle ogling was about to come to a rolling boil at this very moment with no way to extinguish the fire. 

How was _that_ for pressure? 

With a choked gasp, Uma broke the kiss. Her dark gaze narrowed, taking in Audrey's honeyed brown eyes, blown with want, her flushed cheeks, parted lips, and heaving chest. Oh, yeah, she was _all_ the way gone. It was up to the sea witch to be the voice of reason right now, something she luckily was very familiar with. 

“We should stop,” Uma whispered, not at all caring for the hoarse quality to her voice. It meant she was struggling to contain how affected she was. And her shell was still _glowing_. It seemed the thing was well past _liking_ Audrey and frantically swimming towards..._more_. The way it had the annoying tendency to light up whenever things between her and the princess got heated. She internally fought for control but _gods_, she would be lying like a silver tongued shark if she said it wasn't the toughest battle she'd ever had to wage. What with Audrey looking at her like _that_, all hooded eyelids and fire, her fingers twirling around loose teal tresses. 

“W-what if I don't want to,” her roommate breathed, her tone one of desperation. If Uma didn't know any better, she would say the girl was about an inch away from going out of her mind. Dizzy and delirious. Probably the same way she looked when she had stolen that damned scepter all those months ago. 

“You don't know what you're saying.” Her words were solid now, more sure and for that she gave herself a mental round of applause. 

But Audrey apparently wasn't going to be brushed off so easily.

“Yes I do.”

Uma arched a dark brow, her grip tightening on satin clad forearms in an attempt to keep another sense altering kiss at bay. “You sure about that, now?”

“I am.”

Frustration had seeped into those two syllables and the pirate decided right then and there she was done beating around the proverbial bush. 

“I wanna rip that pretty little dress off of you and fuck you. And then bury my head between your legs until you _beg_ me to stop.” She smirked nastily at the stunned expression the crass statement evoked. Good. Sobering up was good right now even though she was sure she was going to need one hell of a strong drink and a freezing cold shower before the night was through. “So I'm telling you again, you don't know what you're saying.”

Going by the way Audrey's brows furrowed, Uma was expecting a slap. For the vulgarity alone. And this time, part of her might have let the strike make contact. No catching of wrists, no veiled threats. _Maybe_. What she was not expecting was for the princess to suddenly surge forward and sink her teeth into the column of her mahogany throat. It wasn't a vicious bite, definitely not hard enough to break skin or to even sting, but it was just enough to light up every nerve ending that ran down her spine, wrapped around her hips, and ended at the apex of her thighs, enough to wring a shockingly loud moan of pleasure from her lips. 

“Don't treat me like a porcelain doll, Uma,” Audrey ordered, mouth moving against the skin of her neck making the sea witch's knees feel as if the bone had been reduced to dust, “You gave me my voice back and I'm using it. I _want_ this.”

“Are you trying to pull rank, princess?” Uma chuckled breathlessly once she'd found her voice at last, her lashes fluttering against the onslaught of sensation. The control she had fought for was slipping away faster than she could seize it, like water through a sieve.

“That's right. _Captain_.”

Check. Mate. 

The trip up the stairs to the cottage's sleeping quarters was short and soon enough, Uma found herself led into a quaint little room that smelled of juniper berries, wood, and pine needles, all but bare with the exception of a very comfortable looking bed. But Uma had no time to admire how fluffy the pillows looked or how nicely stitched the quilting was because Audrey was kissing her again. And this time, the sea witch was ready for it and what was inevitably going to happen _after_, wrapping strong arms around a slender waist, and meeting the kiss head on as if she were commanding a ship through a storm. 

It wasn't a battle for dominance. Audrey submitted with a soft, breathy moan, parting her lips for Uma's tongue that invaded and pillaged, for blunt teeth that nipped. Uma let herself be walked backward, almost like being led in a dance toward the bed, the backs of her knees hitting the frame and her body going into free fall. Grip tightening, she pulled Audrey down with her. 

The meet and greet with gravity was more than enough to break the kiss this time and the sea witch brushed an errant lock of pink hair behind Audrey's ear. They were going to do this. That much was evident. Obvious, even. No going back. It was going to be whatever it was going to be. But she had one last concern and this one, she was determined to actually see it assuaged before any stitch of clothing was removed. 

“You done this before?” 

Such a question would hardly ever be asked back home on the Isle. Most people didn't care one way or another. Some people didn't understand the concept of virginity or its symbolism in the slightest. Still others didn't even know the word existed. But Uma did, and she wasn't about to be anybody's first without both their consent _and_ her own. 

“Yes.” 

The sheer relief that flooded through her like the tide following that one word was damn near dizzying. But of course she had to play it off with humor because she didn't want the girl to get offended. 

“Oooh, _scandalous_,” she giggled, flashing teeth, dark eyes lit with amusement, “Who'd you do it with?” 

Audrey hesitated and her face went red with embarrassment or shyness, Uma couldn't actually tell. But she looked away to study the window for some reason and a calloused finger tipped a patrician chin upward so that their gazes met once more. 

“Hey, don't be like that,” tone serious now, “You know I'd never judge you, who the hell am I? You can tell me.”

“It was Chad.”

Chad. Uma's brows knit at that. She knew the name of course, and the face that went with it. Chad was the one she had to keep Harry from sinking his hook into on a regular. The same Chad who had run out of the cottage's closet like a scared puppy, piss practically running down his leg. Self entitled brat of a boy. Slip shod excuse for a sidekick or henchman, even sorrier excuse for a hero. Audrey could have had anyone and yet she'd picked him to claim something she knew meant far more Auradonian girls than it did to Isle girls. 

“Why?”

The question was out of her mouth faster than she could reel it back in but it was devoid of accusation or disapproval. Simply curiosity. 

“I was still upset by the whole Mal and Ben thing and Chad, he was eager. Plus he's a prince.”

It was the second time that night Mal had been mentioned and though she couldn't quite hide the visceral reaction the purple haired girl's name caused, she could linger on Audrey's last statement and clung to that like a raft in the open sea. 

“Well I'm not a prince. You still want one of those?”

“I don't think that I do.”

Though the words weren't a hard 'yes', there was a conviction to them that made Uma's heart beat just a little faster than it already was. Keep it up and the organ might manage to beat itself out of her chest. 

“Did you enjoy yourself at least?”

Audrey sighed and the sound was sad but also a little angry. “It's all a blur honestly. Chad, he was a bumbling idiot. And so damned arrogant and sure of himself even though he didn't know his left from his right. It was rushed and embarrassing. It was supposed to be magical but it was painful, in more ways than one.” 

The stony facade fell from Uma's face, what little bit of strength she'd use to hold it up failing at the confession. That wasn't what she had wanted to hear. Not at all. It seemed as if she would be erasing more memories than just the ones the cottage held. She almost wished Audrey _was_ inexperienced if her time with Chad was the only thing she had to compare what they were about to do to. 

“I ain't gonna hurt you, princess,” she vowed. They could say what they wanted to about people from the Isle but Uma was a pirate first and foremost, even before she considered herself the daughter of Ursula and nothing was more important to a pirate – not their ship, not their crew, not treasure – than their oath. Child of a villain, persona non grata to the citizens of Auradon for over a year or not, she never made a promise she didn't intend to keep. 

“You sure about that?” 

To hear her own words, the same question she'd hit Audrey with earlier, thrown back at her did nothing but make Uma more resolute. Her dark eyes met with honey brown and she cupped a warm cheek in a weathered hand, leaning forward to place a light kiss on parted lips, sealing the vow. And then in a fluid motion that wrenched a startled gasp from the princess, Uma reversed their positions, her hair falling like a teal curtain around the both of them.

“Let me show you.”

No more words needed. 

Had Audrey been an Isle girl, she might have introduced the blade of the dagger she kept in her boot to the seams of that dress. She might have requested to use restraints; ropes, a couple of those nice silk scarves Audrey kept in her wardrobe. Gods, they could have had some fun with those. She hadn't been lying when she'd told her they all had their kinks. But her roommate wasn't from the Isle and especially after what she'd confessed about her time with Chad – weren't princes supposed to be _charming_ – Uma was determined to keep this as vanilla as she knew how. Which wasn't much, but she would make this good for her. 

Her hands made quick but _gentle_ work of devesting the princess from the satin like dress, baring smooth skin that was softer than anything Uma had ever touched. And then she took off her own clothes. In a far more hasty fashion. Sorry Evie. The hat had been lost somewhere between the time they'd spent downstairs and up here so the waistcoat went first, followed by her top, and leathers. She left the undergarments though. They could stay. Right now this was all about her roommate, stripped deliciously naked and sucking in air as if each breath might be her last. 

It was like a treasure map with too many x's marking too many spots to count and Uma wanted to dig through them _all_. She started at the lips because those were the most familiar. Tender kisses trailed down the line of a sharp jaw, to a swan-like neck and statement piece like collarbone. She let her hands scout the terrain – rounded mountains whose rose colored peaks stiffened when she pinched, a flat plain that quivered where she drew senseless patterns with her fingertips. All the while her ears soaked up the breathless sounds her princess made, sinfully soft and preciously pretty. Wickedly wanton. Wanting more without demand or threat. 

But when her sword hand drifted lower, right to where a heated ocean had formed as a result of exploration, Audrey's whole body tensed, going rigid as a ship's plank as if expecting pain. Uma pulled back like she'd been burned. 

“Uh-uh, don't do that,” dark eyes met honey, searching for trust in exchange for reassurance, “Remember what I said? Relax for me, queen.” 

They both startled at the endearment. Uma because it was the first time in years since she'd uttered such a sentiment towards another, Audrey because it was the first time she'd been directly addressed by the title she'd come to realize would never formally be hers. 

But likewise, it had the desired effect. 

Stiffened limbs went loose and limber, and thighs parted to provide easier access for mahogany fingers. Ever the pirate, Uma allowed her digits to pillage and plunder, seeking out a hooded pearl, firm with blood and lower to a treasure trove, completely underwater at this point. One finger first, just to test the waters and when that brooked no resistance, she slowly and gently added a second. It did earn her a shuddering gasp, as if Audrey had tried to inhale three times at once, while simultaneously made Uma harshly swear on a whispered groan because _gods_ it wasn't _right_ for something to feel so perfect. All tight warmth and wet as the sea. 

After a quick glance up from perfection in the form of feminine folds though, her thrusts stilled. Because now, even though Audrey's body was easily accepting what Uma was giving, she was rapidly blinking up at the cottage's thatched roof ceiling. And the expression on her face, even if the sighs she made sounded like pleasure, bled into panic. What they were doing, and how she was feeling as a result, it was much too much for her, too new, the sensations overwhelming and the sea witch could readily recognize it. This might not have been her maiden voyage but they were sailing all ahead full toward uncharted waters and Audrey had no idea how to navigate. 

“I'm right here,” Uma whispered, her free hand caressing a buttermilk cheek, coaxing attention back toward her, “Eyes on me.” 

She twisted her wrist, fingers curling now instead of plundering, stroking sopping spongy walls, dripping ridged flesh and those soft sounds soon gave way to a symphony of high pitch ones that the captain was hell bent on mining like diamonds. 

“Uma - “ 

“That's my name,” she couldn't help but volley back, half arrogance, half affection. While it was true she'd heard people call her name in the throes of passion on many occasion, said in that same tone that oozed rapture and reverence, she couldn't say she had ever felt the same swelling that occurred behind her rib cage that she felt in that moment when Audrey whimpered it. 

“U-Uma,” her words had lost all steadiness, ragged and fragmented and bordering on frightened, “I – I it feels like I'm f-falling."

Her teeth were starting to chatter even as her hips bucked upward to meet each stroke, her thighs quaking, back arched like she might very well levitate off the damned bed. Audrey was about to come, but fought against the push over the edge. Uma could tell by the way her hands grasped, clutching desperately at whatever part of the sea witch they could reach. The way her eyes were wide and stricken, the way her voice sounded as if she didn't know whether she wanted to cry or not. 

“It's okay,” Uma murmured, surging forward and kissing away the choked cry the change in angle wrested from rosy lips, “I'll catch you, I promise. Just let go.” 

And she increased the speed of her strokes, driving upwards while allowing her thumb to flick back and forth against a swollen jewel and her tongue to streak a line up a creamy throat. She could practically taste Audrey's pulse, the way it throbbed, rapidly fluttering in time to the way her lower walls suddenly clenched around her fingers, a series of prettily broken sobs breaching the air in tandem. With the blunt edges of manicured nails sinking into her back, Uma for the first time in her life understood what the term 'making love' meant and why it could be used as a synonym for sex. Because this, this wasn't fucking. This was pure pleasure that both melted and increased the size of her heart. 

_Gods_ she was done for. 

As the princess' body went limp and her eyes fluttered shut, Uma just watched her. She dried her drenched hand on the quilt never taking her gaze from her roommate. If she never looked at anything else again, that just might be okay because in all honesty Audrey gave her mother a run for the title of Sleeping Beauty. All splayed limbs and quivering muscles. 

When she came to a couple minutes later, it was to a positively smug smirk and the pass of hardened knuckles against her jawline.

“You back with me now?” 

“That,” Audrey's voice sounded as if she had been nursing a sore throat for a week but pleased about the lack of recovery, “That was - I've never - “

“I know.” 

They both smiled and their smiles turned into light laughter until Uma realized a couple moments later that her fingers that hadn't been removed from her roommate's cheek were growing damp from collecting tears. Her brows furrowed then. 

“Gods, you leak like a sinking ship,” she muttered dryly but never ceased in brushing the briny drops away, “Why are you crying now, princess? I know I didn't hurt you.” Her expression turned fleetingly to worry before ironing out, “Right?” 

Audrey let out a watery sound of mirth, leaning into the tender touch, nuzzling against mahogany fingers almost like a kitten might. “No, you didn't hurt me. It's just, I can be myself with you. I don't have to pretend. I don't have to hide. You, you take in all of me. The good, the bad. I'm not used to that.”

“When did I ever tell you I wanted some cookie cutter, poor little rich girl? Trying to please everybody but herself?” Uma asked and there was some heat to the words, exasperation, “When did I tell you that? I don't want you to ever be fake. Not with me. I want my mean queen.”

She shouldn't have been surprised when Audrey was able to match her annoyance head on. “Is that all you like about me, then? The mean part? The me that everybody calls a villain?” 

Uma sighed heavily and heaved herself off of her roommate, flopping onto her back. They were still touching but not as close as they had been moments ago. And that was good because to say what she was about to say, proximity wasn't a fan. “No. I like how you make me feel even though it bothers me.” It was more than she would ever in her life share with another besides her first mate but right now, she was feeling the need to be honest in fair exchange for what Audrey had just gifted her with, “I like how you look at me, I like how you think I don't know you draw pictures of me in your diary. I like how you can be so proper sometimes but then a complete bitch when you want to be. I like how you learned not to be afraid of that part of you. I like how your eyes find me when we're in the same space. I like how comfortable you are talking about who you are with me. I like the sound of your voice even when it annoys me.”

“And Harry?”

There was an edge to the question, the sea witch noted, sharp enough to cut. Audrey still didn't understand and for someone on this side of things, after seeing it for herself the way Auradonians functioned, Uma could almost not blame her. Not now. 

“Harry,” she said, unable to stay the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips even while she studied the wall as if she'd sit an exam on its woodwork first thing in the morning, “Harry is like my anchor, he keeps me grounded. Keeps me from drifting where I shouldn't. Same as I do for him. You though, you're like my ship.”

It was the most simple way she could put it but thankfully it was enough to appease the princess and a spell of comfortable silence passed for the span of a few heart bearts before Audrey broke it once again. 

“I've also never...um - “

Judging by the shyness, the demureness that took the place of iron in her tone, Uma could gather where she was going with the stilted words, “Fucked a girl?” she helpfully provided on a tinny chuckle, glancing sidelong at her roommate just to watch the incarnadine blush that crept up her neck and cheeks bloom. 

“Right. That. But I can try, I'm usually good at trying new things,” an odd, strange placed eagerness combined with the regal modesty, “You'd have to tell me what you want me to do?” 

Uma, being herself and wanting retribution for opening up and professing her _feelings_, decided to be a bit of an asshole. Rolling over and bracing her weight on her left forearm, she licked the shell of Audrey's ear, relishing in the involuntary shudder the gesture left in its wake. 

“I want you to do a lot of things.”

The indignant huff she received though was enough to make her roll her eyes and grab Audrey's hand. She tugged it downward, past the waistband of her underwear and guided the motions of curious fingers for a little while before letting go and resigning herself to what'd probably be half an hour of aimless teasing. 

So _surprised_ was a sorry understatement when in the next few moments she found herself stripped bare from the waist down and in less than ten minutes, the softest touch that had ever graced her skin managed to determinedly wring a climax out of her. One that left her gasping and shaking. The bewilderment melded into pure shock when Audrey coquettishly licked her fingers clean with a pleased purr-like murmur of, “You taste like coconuts and water.” 

Damn if that didn't almost make her come again. 

“I guess that answers the question about my natural hair color, huh?” Uma teased once she could form a complete sentence and Audrey's ringing laughter was something like what a bird might chirp as the sun rose. 

It was clear, and not because night had long since fallen, that they wouldn't be leaving the cottage anytime soon. Consequences be what they may. All the concern Uma could dredge up was for the fact that this was the first time they would be sharing a bed to sleep – well, no, no not _technically_ but still – and Audrey seemed unsure of what to do with herself, not when they were both naked, each other's sweat drying on their skin, and carnally satiated for now. The pirate captain took charge, the way she was used to doing and drew slender arms around her like one would a blanket.

“Hold onto me,” she commanded, snuggling against the princess, her lips pressed against a dampened forehead, “Tighter than that, tighter.” It was different from when Harry held her but in some odd way, provided similar comfort, “yeah, that's nice.” She felt her body go pleasantly limp, felt her mind clear. “Now sing me that song. The one about the pretty girl in the woods and the horse.”

Honey brown eyes met her dark and though they were dimming from fatigue, they still held something like astonishment. 

“You remember that?” 

Uma smiled sleepily and nodded, burrowing her nose into rose scented hair. “Of course I do. Sing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> M is for Mature as well as Metaphor, no? Sorry but anything else and this whole story would have had to be labeled Explicit for one little chapter, right? 
> 
> Fun fact, I actually wrote the outline and a good portion of this chapter before I wrote the first chapter. This scene was meant to be a one-shot and then I thought to myself -- 'self, why not make it a multi-chapter' -- and boom the story was born from just this chapter alone. It was fun though, the journey of getting them to this point and I'm quite proud of the progress because I don't know if you can tell but multi-chapters aren't really my forte. Which is why I'm so grateful for all the feedback I've been receiving from you all. Literally, words can't express how much I love you all for the kudos, the subscriptions, the comments and the support overall.
> 
> Just three more chapters to go and trust me, this isn't even the climax (haha pun not intended) so please stay tuned. Thank you so much for reading and feedback would be greatly, greatly appreciated!!


	11. Chapter 11

Following the night they had shared at Fairy Cottage, things between her and Uma were far more different than they had ever been before. Audrey couldn't have asked for a better outcome. It felt as if all the hurt and anger she had experienced in the past few months had melted away, as if Uma had weaved her particular brand of magic on her, pulling her into a riptide that she didn't have to fight to escape, didn't even want to. She felt as if she was floating and falling at the same time. It was thrilling. It was everything. 

In addition to sharing a room, something Audrey couldn't believe there had been a point in time she had been adverse to, they now shared a bed. They both slept in the princess' bed at night, because it was the biggest. Wrapped in each others arms because Uma slept better when someone was holding her tightly. Audrey could give that to her. And when they weren't asleep, they engaged in activities that would have made any high born lady blush until she swooned. 

Uma did _sinful_ things to Audrey''s body with her fingers and her tongue, growled words against the shell of her ear that made her want and cry for more.

_A calloused, mahogany hand slapped against Audrey's parted mouth, dark eyes boring into honey glazed ones, lit with amusement and predatory lust, dusky lips wet with the traces of arousal, “Shh princess, you want the whole damned kingdom to hear you?” _

_But goodness, she couldn't help it. Not when Uma braced her weight on her strong forearms, hovering over her, dark skin glistening like gold tinged water, wearing nothing but her shell necklace and a feral smile, brown eyes boring into hers. Her hair which she kept loose now as per Audrey's request fell around them, cloaking them like a teal and turquoise curtain. All the while her mouth traced a heated line up Audrey's milky throat, teeth nipping hard enough to sting but soothe at the same time, lithe fingers curling and tracing and teasing and _taking_. _

_It was _intoxicating_._

_“Let them hear me, I don't care,” was all she could whimper in her drunken haze to which Uma wickedly chuckled and continued her more than welcome assault._

But Audrey, as she'd claimed, was a fast learner. She had had no choice but to be growing up as the princess who was to inherit the throne. And she gave as good as she got, and then some. Uma's soft moans of pleasure, rare as they were, were like music to her ears. She couldn't understand why the sea witch would want to keep such sounds quiet. They were a siren's song that coaxed Audrey, spurred her on with a formerly inexperienced mouth and hands when it came to pleasuring another person. It was much like the piano lessons she had taken as a child. Choppy and awkward at first, but still hitting notes that with practice made her a maestro. Only this time the instrument was Uma's body.

_She had the pirate captain on her back, a luxury in itself because Uma preferred to be on top, and felt so, _so_ powerful. And that power was enough to make one feel drunk. She knew it well because it was similar to how she had felt with Maleficent''s scepter in her hand. Watching Uma writhe beneath her, hearing her beg for _her_ touch, plead for completion, it made a dark smile spread across Audrey's lips. Buried three fingers deep inside a cecaelia, _goodness_, there really was no feeling that could ever compare to it. _

_”What was that you were saying about the kingdom?” She can't help but tease, smirking down at her roommate whose dark eyes were glazed over and wanting. Unbound turquoise locks sticking to swear dampened cheeks, strong muscles taut and quivering like an arrow primed to loose, "You're loud enough to summon the guards." _

_Despite all this, Uma was fierce in her retort, brows furrowing even as her lashes fluttered. “Don't play with me. I'll slit your - “_

_Audrey cut off the threat with a kiss before letting her lips trail to a sharp jawline, nose buried between teal tresses that smelled deliciously of coconuts and sea salt. With her teeth, she nipped harshly at an earlobe, earning a sweet purr. _

_“I don't think that's the proper way to speak to a royal,” she stated in her haughtiest of regal tones, letting her hand still and retract, “Maybe I should stop.”_

_“Princess,” the sultry moan of her name reminded Audrey of the summer air rolling off of the lake, followed by a high pitched gasp as she let her fingers invade deeper than before, and she knew it was over from there, “Please.”_

_“Please what?” she husked, nearly blinded by the heady rush of control, her inner thighs throbbing at the thought of Uma's imminent retribution once she'd found release. _

_“Please don't stop.”_

There was only a week left in the seminar and it wasn't until this last week that Audrey was formally introduced to Uma's crew. Or as formal as introductions could be when it came to pirates, so it was. The subjects - the best way she knew to describe them giving her upbringing - welcomed her with the acceptance anyone would show if their leader, ruler, sovereign, whatever decreed it. And Audrey found that she _liked_ the familiarity of hierarchy amongst those she had been bred to believe had no morals or values. They were savagely protective of Uma and it showed in the way they all eyed her up and down with venom in their eyes, but they trusted the sea witch's judgment and accepted the news with no fuss or qualms. Though she was quite sure one of the girls, Bonny, had flashed a dagger in warning when Uma wasn't looking. 

The ones Audrey was more concerneda bout though, were Uma's boys. Harry and Gil. Her first mate and her muscle as they were called. 

Gil was sweet enough despite his presence. Twice her size, bigger than all of the princes and gentry men of Auradon. He could easily be frightening at first glance with his bulging arms and powerful stance until he smiled and began to ramble. He wasn't soft though and that was evident. His hazel eyes, warm as they were, could very quickly freeze into the cold eyes of someone who would hurt, maim, or kill anyone who dared pose a threat to Uma and that was evident. He used the boyish way he spoke as a tactic to disarm, but his mind was just as calculating as the rest of Uma's pirates, Audrey realized. Even if she did blush when he had innocently asked if roses were called roses because she was as pretty as one. 

Harry had been different. When it came to him, Audrey couldn't help but feel both anxious and jealous. He and Uma's relationship was so intimate. Far more intimate than she could possibly understand. And they they had known each other for so long, grown up together, manned a ship and crew together. Five weeks could barely compare to nearly two decades of love and loyalty. She remembered her first interaction with him all too well. 

_Audrey clung to Uma's side as they walked across the grounds, experly ignoring the odd looks she received, letting them roll off her back. Villain kids would of course be surprised and shocked to see one of their own draping a protective arm around the waist of an Auradonian. And it was good preparation for what she would inevitably face from her own people once this seminar was through. _

_“Ooh would ye look at that, she's possessive, isn't she?” A loud, heavily accented burr derailed her train of thought and Audrey quite suddenly found herself face to face with a person she had been taught to properly fear. Though he wasn't much taller than she or Uma, his body language and most importanlty his eyes – blue though a dull blue and strangely tinged pinkish around the whites – were those of a killer. Even without the leather, even without the hook, his whole presence screamed _danger_. _

_But the way his gaze flickered to Uma, the way his body angled towards hers, the way he looked behind the both of them as if drilling holes into anyone who dared glance their way, it put Audrey oddly at ease. Harry was someone who would ensure that if any foe got past the crew, or somehow past Gil, never got to Uma. He was the fortress. And Audrey refused to quail, even if she felt nervous, her honey eyes never wavering from iron blue. _

_“Ye look like ye wanna shoot a cannon through me mast, Highness.”_

_“Harry,” Uma's tone was stalwart and stern, causing a spark to shoot through Audrey's middle like a wayward firework, “Cut it out.”_

_It was almost strange, truly, to see the way Harry oh so slightly deflated. It wasn't like the usual way people bowed or pandered to royalty. It was...more. He didn't obey Uma because he was supposed to or because he had been born to or because some law decreed he did. It was his choice to. He wanted to. It gave him pride to do so without lowering himself or making himself less important. _

_“He doesn't have to do that. I can take it,” Audrey murmured, separating herself from Uma by a hairsbreadth just to feel as if she was standing on her two feet as she continued to stare her roommate's comrade down. _

_Harry noticed, of course, he was incredibly shrewd, and shifted his stance with a sneer. _

_“And what would make ye think I'd let _mine_ fall into enemy hands so easily.”_

_Goodness. The jealousy slowly began to ebb. It was unnecessary because it was plain as day that the pirate before her was the jealous one and not her. It was in the way his jaw was tight and the way he twirled his hook almost casually. The way his other hand clenched and released and then clenched again. The way he growled out the word 'mine' in that menacing brogue of his. _

_She placed a hand on Uma's arm, stilling her before the sea witch could make a remark, responding to Harry's challenging words in the most diplomatic way she knew how. _

_“Because if you truly believed I was your enemy, you'd be doing less talking and more hooking, wouldn't you?”_

_And just like that, the tension melted away. A delighted laugh bubbled from Harry's mouth and he shook his head. _

_“I'll have to hand it to ye, darling. Ye may not have to cast this one back just yet.” _

_Audrey was more pleased with herself than words could express at the look of relief that crossed Uma's face. Because it was so slight that only someone who knew the captain well enough would have noticed. And the fact that she did, well, it meant more to her than a lot of things ever had. So much so that she didn't even scowl when Uma tapped Harry's chin affectionately and he threaded through locks of teal with the curve of his hook._

Nothing mattered anymore. Well no, things that once mattered more to her than anything _almost_ no longer mattered. Audrey felt freer than she'd ever felt in her life. Freer than when she was a child picking daises and dandelions in the meadow beside the Enchanted Lake. Freer than she'd felt running after Ben when they'd been preteens and she'd been trying to kiss his cheek on a dare. She could almost not remember what it was like to chase after Ben. She could almost think his name and not feel a thing. She could almost think about his impending wedding to Mal and not feel a thing. There was just a tiny bit of bitterness left in her, but that was okay, it was all right because Uma accepted it. Uma knew she would never be fully over what she felt and the sea witch was okay with that because there were things she herself would never be over. So Uma didn't judge. Uma didn't pry. Uma didn't try to distract her when her mood soured. Uma didn't play the society lady with her . She let her be. 

Sometimes. 

_ “Eyes right here, princess,” Uma whispered, her chocolate gaze sharp but warm in equal measure, ever the contradiction, as she stroked a buttermilk cheek with a calloused finger, “You're caught in a current. Swim back to me.”_

_“How can you tell?” Audrey asked, smiling softly despite herself, leaning into the touch, reciprocating with her own because she knew her roommate, her lover, her whatever they were, liked it. _

_“You do this salty thing with your mouth.” Uma nipped her lower lip with her teeth, “It's not cute.” _

_She couldn't help but roll her eyes, instantly exasperated at the thought of looking anything but cute. “You're supposed to ask what's wrong.”_

_“For what?”_

_“Because.” _

_Uma propped herself up on an elbow and arched an eyebrow, a rather regal expression that as of recent made Audrey want to question the pirate's bloodline, “Because what? I already know what's wrong so why do I need to ask. If you want to speak on it, then speak. If not, I'm not about to fish it out of you. Too much work, no reward, y'know?”_

_“It's the way things are done here,” Audrey huffed and even to her the tone sounded petulant but she didn't care. _

_“Well, I'm here for now but honestly I'm just visiting. Speak if you wanna be heard. That's the way I grew up. Closed mouths don't get fed, literally.”_

Audrey had let that last statement marinate for two days before deciding to bring up the topic. She supposed in a way she had been afraid to, though she was loathe to admit it. But Uma _did_ mean a lot to her, more than she could remember any specific person ever meaning. Even more than Ben. As time went on she began to realize she had loved the idea of the current king and being his queen more than she had loved Ben as Ben. But Uma was different. In more ways than one. There were no titles to be gained from being romantically involved with Uma, no status, nor fame. And yet she found herself chasing this goal as if she were gaining all that and more. 

_”Tell me about the Isle.”_

_Audrey could feel Uma stiffen beside her, could practically feel whatever air in the room evaporate to be replaced by a chill that was entirely out of place for mid-summer. _

_A whole minute – and the princess had counted – passed before there was a response. _

_“What's there to tell?”_

_“I mean, all my life I thought it was where all the villains who wanted to destroy us were held and I thought they deserved it. But then I became a villain and met you, so now I don't really know.”_

_“You became a villain?” Uma scoffed and Audrey's teeth nearly chattered at the ice in her tone, “You broke into a museum, tried on a fancier tiara than you're used to and banged a stick on a marble floor, made a few people take a nap, made your ex-boyfriend really hairy, and you think that made you a villain?” _

_Uma rolled onto her back and placed her hands behind her head and Audrey felt bereft not only because of the words but by the action. It put significant space between them even if they both still lay in the same bed. _

_“Where I come from the heroes are the real villains. More villain the craziest killers and thieves on the Isle.”_

_“W-what? I don't see thow that could even - “_

_“By definition, heroes don't let babies starve. Heroes don't leave kids to rot in prison for crimes they never committed. Heroes don't leave helpless people at the mercy of others who are not only stronger than them but more evil by nature. Therefore those who let all that happen and knew it was happening are the real villains.” _

_“I think the children should have been brought passed the barrier.” _

_“And then what? Be raised to believe what they were is wrong? Look how Auradonians treat the Isle kids now. Look how they treat you when, to keep it real, all the stuff you did would have been hardly more than a prank on the Isle.” _

_“But children are innocent.”_

_“No one's innocent, princess,” Uma said derisively, “My Desiree, she'd cry so pretty on your shoulder you'd wager your last just to stop her tears and then she'd slit your throat in your sleep if I told her too and won't think twice about it.”_

_“Tell me what it was like.”_

_“It was nasty. It was filthy. It was cold.”_

_“Don't sugar coat it for me Uma.”_

_“I'm not. I mean what I'm saying. Garbage everywhere and Aurdonian leftovers. Why would your people do that? Send rotten food to starving people and not expect backlash?”_

_“I – I - “_

_“You what? Clearly never seen a four year old gnawing on a chicken bone that was a week old? Never seen a barefoot little kid digging through trash to find somewhere to sleep? Yeah, I know you haven't.”_

_“I'm sorry.”_

_An overwhelming sadness descending upon Audrey then. She had never felt the words she uttered more in her entire life. This wasn't accidentally stepping on someone's toes, this wasn't bumping into someone on the way to class. This was so much more than any reason she'd ever felt to issue an apology. Heavier. _

_And Uma refused to accept it. _

_“Sorry. What a stupid word. What are you sorry for? Did you do it?”_

_“No. But had I been queen, I - .”_

_“But you aren't queen, are you?”_

_A familiar heat settled into Audrey's chest and throat. Poisonous and rank and had she been innately magical, she was sure her eyes might have flashed. _

_“That was uncalled for.”_

_“It's a fact and it's time you accepted that,” Uma muttered, though her tone softened and she reached forward to twirl a lock of pink and blonde hair around her finger. _

_“I have,” Audrey huffed even as she welcomed the unexpectedly tender touch. _

_“Nah, you haven't. But you need to and I'm not gonna press you to accept it. You just need to or it's going to keep eating at you.”_

_“I don't want to talk about this anymore.”_

_Because she didn't and when a topic was over, she wanted it to be over. It was how her Grammy had raised her after all. _

_“Fine. But you needed to hear it.”_

_“Are you angry now?” She still had to ask. Uma's moods were volatile sometimes and it was something she was still learning to navigate. She could be more than moody herself but she still didn't like the fact they might be in a fight over this._

_“Yeah,” Uma confirmed. Before Audrey could tense however, the sea witch hooked her by the backs of her legs and flipped her onto her back in a quick though pleasantly dizzying motion, “But not everything needs that kind of energy, princess. Come here”_

The end of the seminar had come at last and Audrey couldn't be happier. She had seen enough of Auradon Prep to last her two lifetimes. And she wasn't exaggerating. She hummed contentedly to herself as she packed her bags, earning an eyebrow quirk from Uma to which she smirked, remebering the way they had said their own goodbyes to the room earlier that morning. _Goodness_ her legs still felt like jelly. 

Shaking her head to clear it, Audrey resumed her packing with gusto as she had a hair appointment with Evie's little protegee Dizzy in a little while and even if tomorrows _ceremony_ wasn't the typical graduation, she still wanted to look nice. 

“I'm gonna go see the kids that didn't make it off,” Uma said as she tied a knot in the seashell adorned burlap sack she kept her things in. Audrey could sense the tension in her muscles as she tugged the cords tighter than necessary. She was bitter about the fact that Fairy Godmother and the rest of the Auradon had shown the Isle kids the world only to toss them back into hell for not fitting into their idea of what goodness was. Understandable, of course. 

“It'll be all right,” Audrey said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone, “They know you'll always be there for them.”

Uma made a low sound in her throat and that was the end of that. Audrey knew better than to pry. They resumed their packing – the pirate helping the princess with the heavier lifting – until the room was as barren as the average dorm room. 

“Meet up with me and my crew after you get all prettified.” And even as Audrey nodded, she fought back the shiver that lately seemed to run up her spine when Uma _told_ her to do something. 

Dizzy, despite her age and her effervescent though distracting disposition, proved to be quite the cosmetologist. She'd brightened the pink of Audrey's highlights and was chattering away as she buffed her nails when Audrey turned to Evie who was busy making some sort of frozen apple flavored refreshment for the three of them. 

“Isn't there anything that can be done, I know you're one of Ben's advisors, for some of the kids sent back?”

“The barrier is down,” Evie said in that distantly polite way of hers as she brought the drinks to them on a tray, “They'll never be banned from Auradon and I made sure of that,” there was a knife's edge with this statement that reminded Audrey somewhat of Uma, “Ben and Fairy Godmother thought it would provide an incentive to abide by the rules though, and I reluctantly agreed.”

“They'll definitely miss the ice cream,” Dizzy prattled on brightly, blowing on the fresh coat of lacquer she'd applied to Audrey's nails, “Uma's made sure fresh meat and vegetables go to the Isle but cake and ice cream? Who would give that up?”

“Speaking of, Uma was a little upset about it. She was asked to see them off today. I just hope she doesn't think it's her fault.”

She didn't realize the room had grown quiet at first, merely admiring the shade of magenta on her nails that perfectly complimented the streaks in her hair. And then she felt it. Had she never known Uma, Audrey doubted she would have. The sixth sense of course was far from developed. She hadn't grown up on the Isle. But despite the pretty sunshine spilling in through the drawn curtains in the large room, she could feel what felt like a dark cloud slowly rolling in before a storm, sending forks of lightning through her nerves. Her heart started to pound and her mouth went dry. 

“What is it.”

“You said Uma went to see them off today,” said Evie and her usual pleasant, bird like tone, sounded strangely strangled. 

“She did.”

“She couldn't have.”

“It was only five of them,” Dizzy piped up, though she hardly sounded like her own bubbly self. She sounded scared. “They went back to the Isle last night.”

Audrey didn't have a word in her vocabulary – both English and French – to describe the icy wave of terror that swamped her in that moment. It was as if every one of her five senses had short circuited. She couldn't feel, she couldn't think, she couldn't hear. In fact it took her several moments to realize that Evie had knelt before her and was cupping her face in slender hands. 

“Breathe for me,” the blue haired princess commanded, her voice soothingly low and yet sharp enough for Audrey to suck in a gulp of air that felt like blades scraping her throat, “Good girl. And again.”

“I ,” Audrey licked her lips and tried again but verily it felt as if she had a rock lodged between her vocal chords, “I have to go to her. I have to find her.”

Because that's all that mattered. The grounds of the school and the castle itself were huge, as well all of Auradon, but she knew the land like the back of her hand. She let her body relax, let the cold that had chilled her blood clear her head. She couldn't panic now. She couldn't play damsel. She couldn't be _Princess_ Audrey of Auradon now. She had to pull herself together. She had to be Uma's Mean Queen.

“I'll get Ben and Mal, Fairy Godmother and - “

“No,” Audrey hardly recognized her own voice, “No. Get Harry. And Gil. Uma's crew. Tell them to meet me in the Armory. Don't tell anyone else.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize to everyone who has been eagerly awaiting an update and can promise that the wait is over. Obviously with this new chapter, but the last two chapters of this are in the proofreading and editing phase as I type this. 
> 
> Hope this chapter delivered and thank you so much for reading, both old and new readers. Feedback would be greatly appreciated!


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